Of Consequences And Redemption
by Strawberry Grasshopper
Summary: "My dear, naïve little child," he whispered from behind, his hot breath fanning over her ear, sending shivers of fear up her spine. "You're in my world now. Here, you're the monster. Not me." One year. One year to kill him, or she marries him. She should have known better: everything has consequences. No one can save her – them, now. No one but herself. (new story, old fairytale)
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe. Everything else is mine._

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><p><em><strong>Summary: <strong>__"My dear, naïve little child," he whispered from behind, his hot breath fanning over her ear and sending a shiver of fear up her spine. "You're in my world now, and here, you're the monster. Not me." One year. She has one year to kill him, or she marries him. She should have known better - everything has consequences. No one can save her...them...now. No one but herself._

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><p><em>OF CONSEQUENCES AND REDEMPTION<em>

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><p>Tequila Blackbird's Song for Thought: An inspirational song chosen for you to listen to while reading this chapter by my beta, Tequila Blackbird.<p>

This chapter: "Pompeii" by Bastille

"_...and the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we love...great clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above...but if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like nothing changed at all? How am I gonna be an optimist about this?"_

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><p><em>Chapter One<em>

_France: 1820_

"He should be home by now."

"Would you stop pacing? You're making me dizzy."

"And _you_ are making me sick. He is our father! How are the two of you not more concerned?"

"Just because we aren't wearing holes in the floorboards doesn't mean we aren't worried, Kagome. Would you please just sit down and stop worrying? I'm sure Papa is fine."

Kagome glared at her two twin sisters and finally sat down in front of the crackling fireplace – the house cat, Bouyo, lazily crawled into her lap now that she had finally stopped pacing.

All three girls looked completely different from each other. Kagome's fraternal twin sisters, Ayame and Kaede, looked far more like their late mother, though their coloring was different. Ayame was a exact replica of their mother, with burning red hair and eyes like a thousand green meadows. Kagome, while looking more like their father, shared his midnight black hair and deep blue eyes with Kaede.

Their mother had passed away a year ago after getting caught in the middle of a storm. She had become lost on her way to their new home, and when she finally found their new cottage, she was soaked to the bone and developed the cold that later claimed her life.

Over the past year, the family had endured quite a few hardships.

Their father, Eamonn Beaumont, was a merchant, and business had been rather poor for them. All of the ships he owned had either been lost at sea due to storms or captured by pirates, and Eamonn had done his best to keep his family afloat for as long as possible. He took out loans from the bank as well as from family friends, and eventually, they started to sell many of their different possessions – from the piano in the foyer to the several horses they owned. It wasn't enough, however, and they were eventually forced to sell their home and move to the country. They had only been living there for a few months when their mother had lost her way and become sick, adding to the numerous misfortunes of the past year.

To make it worse, both Ayame and Kaede were no longer of any interest to their old suitors. With the family misfortune came a highly reduced dowry and a change in family status. With a highly reduced dowry came the lack of interest of the many eligible bachelors of France, and the girls were forced to remain unwed and fear the potential of becoming old maids.

Men were only after a few things when it came to marriage – money, status, and a beautiful woman to wear on their arm like an accessory. With the first two now gone, the third was all that the sisters had left to their advantage, and unfortunately, very few married for love. Most only married for the money or the status or out of pure necessity.

No one married for love anymore – much to Kagome's chagrin.

She had a male suitor that came for her more often than she would like – Koga. He was a kind man, of good standing, and made a decent living for himself. Her sisters had called her foolish and selfish when she had refused the many marriage proposals he had offered her over the last few months. He had claimed that they were out of love for her, but he hardly knew her. He only knew that he enjoyed looking at her pretty face, and that he wanted to be known as the man who helped to save the Beaumont family from certain disaster. Kagome could still feel the eyes of onlookers burning into her flesh as they watched the once mighty Beaumonts descend from their once proud home to their new life in the little cottage. She couldn't – no, _wouldn't – _bear the whispers of how they had been saved from utter despair by this _kind_ man who only wanted what was best for the once powerful family.

Kagome would have nothing of it.

She loathed the idea of marrying anyone for any reason less than she loved them with all her heart, and she refused to do anything but just that.

Her sisters were both more than welcome to marry Koga if they wanted to save the family name so much – she was going to be selfish and wait for what truly mattered to her. After all, she wasn't even the eldest daughter in the family. Ayame was, and as such, she should – by rights – be married off to someone first. Not her, the youngest daughter.

Yet, that was why her father's recent trip into town was so important.

The family had just given up hope of ever being able to gain any semblance of normalcy when word reached them of the last ship Eamonn owned finding its way back on course. It had been lost at sea – thrown off course by horrendous storms – but it had found its way, against all odds. Their father had taken the last horse they owned, Cossette, and made the two day journey into town. He had sent word back to his daughters with Koga, who made rather frequent trips to visit the Beaumonts, that he would return in three days time.

It was now ten days past when he was due back, and Kagome was worried beyond repair.

"I'm sure he is fine, Kagome. The ship is probably just late coming back in. You remember how these things are - and the ship _was_ lost for a very long time. I imagine that the estimated time for its arrival was very inaccurate. Who knows, maybe the ship is just now reaching port."

"It's been ten days. Ten. He has been gone for far too long to have not sent word to us again. How can this not worry either of you?"

"It does, Kagome. Really and truly. But short of walking to town, what can we do? Papa has our only horse. By the time you get there, he could very well have already made it back here. Just try to read a book and calm your nerves like us."

Kagome shooed Bouyo off her lap and walked to a window in their humble cottage, gazing out into the night. There was a low fog starting to roll in, covering the surrounding forest with a dark and eerie air.

"I am too worked up to read a book."

"Well, you certainly aren't going for a walk," Ayame crisply informed her. "It's too dark, and I will not allow it. Don't forget who Papa put in charge when he left."

"He only put you in charge because you're the eldest. And I'm not going to go for a walk. Don't worry." Kagome soothed, her gaze dancing from tree to tree, searching for something she had thought she had seen in the distance. She wasn't sure what it was, or what she thought she had seen, but she could have sworn she saw something. Her gut immediately started to twist and her scalp began to tingle. "It's too foggy ou…" her words trailed off as she thought she saw a flicker of movement by one of the birch trees.

Something was out there. She was sure of it.

"Kaede, grab Papa's bow and quiver," Kagome commanded, her eyes focused in the same spot off to the side of the birch.

"Why… What's wrong Kagome?"

"Don't question me, Kaede. Please. Just do it," she demanded, her steely tone brokering no room for arguments or questions. Only actions.

She strained her eyes trying to make out what she had seen. They were in the middle of a forest. It was most likely a deer. Honestly, it could have been anything. Yet, she was sure that it was much larger than a deer. Her instinct was telling her as much - just like the danger curdling in the pit of her stomach and making the hairs stand up on the back of her neck in fear. Her fingers felt cold, and her palms felt clammy as she continued to search the darkness.

"Kagome," whispered Ayame, tiptoeing to stand behind her youngest sister. "What is it? What do you see?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted quietly, biting her lip in concentration as her eyes began to sting from the strain of staring out into a black abyss. "Something doesn't feel right." She hesitated for a moment before adding, "I think I should go out there."

"What? Are you mad?" Ayame harshly admonished, urgently grabbing her shoulder as Kaede handed her sister their father's weapons. "Why on earth would you go out there when we are perfectly safe in here?"

"To get a better look around. Maybe I am just letting my imagination get the best of me. Or maybe there is something out there," she reasoned, slinging her father's quiver over her shoulder as her stomach began to twist and knot. "Either way, we won't know until I go out there."

"Yes, and what happens if you do and there _is_ something out there? What is your plan? To shoot it? When you can hardly see?" Ayame interjected, squeezing her sister's shoulder. "Please. Be reasonable. Stay here, and let whatever it is you see out there, _stay_ out there."

It was there again. The unknown movement in the unknown location created by the unknown creature.

"Papa may have put you in charge, Ayame," Kagome concluded, deftly grabbing an arrow from the quiver on her back, "but he taught _me_ how to protect you both."

With that, she pushed out the door past her sisters' outstretched and grasping arms, ignoring their pleas for her to come back inside where it was safe.

The fog was thick, and it blanketed the ground like fresh cream sloshing down the sides of an overly full farmer's bucket. The night air was crisp and a light breeze bit lightly at her cheeks and nose. Kagome crept forward away from the safety of her home, arrow notched and poised to be released with a sharp twang should she find something of danger.

Her gaze stayed close to the ground by the bushes near the birch trees where she had thought she had seen the supposed threat. Slowly, she inched her way forward, her senses on alert. She could feel her heart beating in her throat and pounding in her ears as she stood mere feet away from the trees. She couldn't even hear her sisters calling for her.

She was standing directly in front of the bushes, eyes rapidly flitting back and forth, scanning the darkness.

There was nothing.

Perhaps she was losing her mind. Simply on edge and overly alert because their father was missing.

She slowly lowered the bow and arrow, having decided that this must have been the cause – nothing more.

"Kagome!" Her name cut through the air like an icicle crashing down from a rooftop, shattering into a thousand jagged, tiny ice chips that had sunk their way into her heart, chilling her to the bone. She turned around and saw the terrified faces of her sisters, who had stupidly followed her out of the cottage, staring at the large robust form of a wolf. It was, by far, the largest wolf she had ever seen. She had no idea that they could grow to that size - it had to have been about four feet tall.

Its eyes roamed over her sisters, eyeing them hungrily – stalking them.

"Ayame… Kaede … slowly back away and go back inside," Kagome commanded, her voice a low and quiet tremble.

"Kagome," Ayame called, "It's…it's foaming at the mouth."

Kagome's already pale skin became almost translucent at those words. The beast was rabid. That made it even more unpredictable and deadly.

They might not even make it back into the house. Kagome licked her lips as the low growl the wolf had been emitting grew in strength and volume. She could feel it vibrating through her whole body, creating a symphony of terror. Her heart was but a violin, and the wolf a mere bow caressing its strings to create the deadliest of music as it dipped its head closer to the ground. Kagome watched its lithe body tense, and knew she had but a few seconds to aim and shoot before it would lunge at her sisters.

Kagome was still new to the feeling of having a bow in her hands. Her father had begun training her in how to use one a few weeks ago, at her insistence. Now that they lived in the woods, it made sense to try and hunt for some of their own meat. That, and learn to protect herself and her sisters should she need to. Eamonn had been reluctant to give her lessons, but she kept pushing her father, demanding that he teach her. He had eventually given in.

Now, Kagome was glad she had been so insistent upon the training.

She took aim and let the arrow loose just as the wolf sprang into the air. It caught the beast in the hind leg, but did not kill him. It _did_ cause him to miss his target. Her sisters took the opportunity to quickly run back into the house, closing the door tightly behind and racing to the windows. Kaede closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, her lips moving in what Kagome assumed was a silent prayer while Ayame's hands grasped the window frame – her knuckles turned a ghostly white.

The wolf turned his attention to Kagome, and she felt herself freeze in fear at the look of pure unadulterated hunger and malice in his eyes. If Kagome wanted to live, she would have to act fast. She would either need to run, or shoot him again.

What was it going to be?

Stay and fight, or run?

An arrow whipped through the air and lodged itself securely in the animal's neck. Kagome never had the chance to make a decision.

She saw her sisters bolt to the front door, flinging it open, and running in the direction the arrow had come in.

It was their father.

Kagome took off after them and joined her sisters in embracing their father, sobbing their relief into his chest.

They were safe, and he was home and alive and well.

"Oh Papa…" Ayame sobbed into his chest. "We were so worried about you!"

"Where were you?" Kaede asked, clinging to Eamonn's arm.

"Come inside and I'll tell you," he soothed, rubbing his daughter's heads. "Kagome, would you ready a pot of tea? I would like to change out of these travel clothes before I begin. It has been a long journey."

Kagome nodded, examining her fathers face in the moonlight and swirling fog.

Everyone quickly hurried inside, and Kagome started to boil some water and gather some blankets as her sisters tied up Cosette.

Kagome inhaled deeply, a feeling of calm and security washing over her body for the first time in nearly two weeks. It felt good to have her father home. Comforting. The inner turmoil she and her sisters had faced these last few days had been crushing. Having their father back now finally put her at ease.

The door opened and Kagome watched her sisters come in, a dark and worried look marring their faces. Hushed whispers seeped from their lips, and their eyes darted back and forth from each other to Kagome.

Something was wrong.

"What is it?" Kagome called to them. "What's wrong?"

They both shared a look before sitting on the floor and beckoning for Kagome to do the same.

"It's most likely nothing," Ayame started, pausing for a moment before continuing. "The horse that Papa came back on wasn't Cossette. I don't know who this horse belongs to."

"What? Are you sure?" Kagome whispered, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Kaede nodded. "I'm sure. Cossette is female. This one is male."

The teapot's bubbling interrupted the girls, ending the conversation and Kagome went to remove it from the heat as their father appeared in the doorway.

"Cossette should arrive in a few days," their father assured them, subtly informing his daughters that they had not been as quiet as they had intended. He languidly took his seat in the chair by the fire, rubbing his face and massaging his beard. "Kagome, dear, is the tea done?

"Yes! It's steeping now," she offered him the mug in outstretched arms. "It should be as you like it in just a few minutes."

"Thank you, dear," he murmured, taking the mug from her. He stared into its bottom and his daughters silently watched him, waiting for his story to begin.

Kagome observed his face. His cheeks were sunken in and deep, dark circles lingered under his eyes. His once solid black hair was wild and unruly instead of neatly combed as he always kept it, and it was starting to grey along his temples. Whatever had happened on this trip, it had taken years out of her father.

"I am so sorry," he finally began, unable to look up from his drink. "I am so very, _very_ sorry."

"What happened?" Kaede whispered. "What's wrong?"

Eamonn looked at his worried daughters' faces and began his sorrowful tale.

"I was coming home four nights ago when I lost my way… it was too dark out, and it was hard for me to see the path. Not long after starting my journey, I became lost in the dark depths of an unknown forest. All was silent and calm, but then…that's when I stumbled upon it."

"It?" asked Kaede.

Eamonn nodded and replied in a frightened whisper, "His castle…"

_Eamonn stood in front of a large, dark, stone-gray castle with a short, winding staircase leading to a balcony and the front door. The entire castle was maybe seventy feet high and eight hundred feet wide with many towers. The towers all varied in shape and size. Some of the towers were round with a cone-like roof - others simply had a round roof. All of them came to a long, pointed tip with matching ornaments on the top. Some towers sported areas that were cut out to give the effect that they were windows, when in reality they bore no glass. Other towers were rectangular with a pointed, triangular roof. The exterior of the whole castle sported an even blend of_ _traditional French medieval architecture and classical Italian structures._ _There was plenty of ivy growing on the stone walls, both alive and dead. As Eamonn started to climb the steps, he saw marble figures of wolves adorning the stone banister. There was something in their fierce expressions that was incredibly unnerving… but not as unnerving as the doors swinging open of their own accord. He pressed forward._

_The inside was just as dark and ominous as the outside. There was almost no light to guide one's path… The corridor was almost completely pitch-black, save for the single candelabra that illuminated the halls. Upon closer examination, it had a golden, intricate shaft adorned with what almost appeared to be a dog paw holding onto it. When the light from the candles were no longer visible – for it became lit as one walked by – another one would light again. They were placed in equal intervals all the way down the long corridor._

_When Eamonn finally came to the end of the hall, he found a table filled with food and drink awaiting him._

"_Hello? Is anyone there?" Eamonn called again_ _as_ _he_ _slowly approached the table. He found that there was a note placed there. Inscribed on it was a very short message - it simply said:_

_Eat. Drink._

_Nothing more, nothing less. Eamonn had endured a hard journey and was not about to turn down this most generous offer. Sitting down, he raised his glass of wine and loudly proclaimed,_ _"I drink to you, wherever you may be. Your hospitality is most appreciated."_

_He ate and drank to his heart's content until he could eat no more. He then left to find his host, but to no avail. Every door he took led him straight back to the corridor from which he had entered. Deciding that it was just not his fate to meet his host, Eamonn prepared to leave through the same dark corridor when it brought him to a different room—a bed chamber. Thinking his host most gracious once more, Eamonn lay down for the night in the soft bed presented to him. However, he was still determined to thank his host come dawn._

_The next day when he awakened and had dressed, he opened the door to find himself greeted with the delightful smells and sights of the morning meal. He then sat down to gorge himself on food once again, but only after calling out his thanks to his unknown host once more._

_He tried to find his mysterious friend, but much like the night before, he was delivered to the front door with every new corridor that he took. Finally, he heeded his host's wishes and left._

_Upon returning to the outside world, he laid his eyes upon the most glorious rosebush that ever was. The heavenly flowers were all white and perfectly unmarred._

_Before he had left for town, he had asked his daughters what they would like as gifts should the ship successfully make it back to port. His eldest daughters had asked for gowns or jewelry, while his youngest had simply asked him to bring her back a rose._

_When his ship had – once again – not made it to port, he had given up hope of being able to give his eldest children the presents they had asked for. And as for Kagome, he had yet to see a single rose on his travels._

_The single gift that he had thought to be the simplest had proven to be the most elusive, and yet now, it was right before his eyes, begging to be picked and taken to his daughter._ _Walking up to the rosebush to heed the flowers' demand, he selected and picked one of the roses that seemed to match Kagome's personality perfectly. This was the moment in which he sealed their fate forever and finally met his host._

"_You!" a voice snarled from above. Whirling around to face the balcony he had been standing on just moments ago, Eamonn saw him. He had snow white, waist-length hair. His eyes glowed a ferocious yellow, reminding Eamonn of the flames of hell. His teeth could clearly be seen in the snarl adorning his terrifying face. Fangs from each corner of the creature's mouth gleamed menacingly. Atop his head were things that Eamonn could only describe as monstrous. Two white triangles rested there… looking eerily similar to the ears that rested on the far smaller crown of his family's beloved pet, Bouyo._

"_You!" the strange man, if he was indeed a man, repeated as he lept from the balcony and approached with a predatory grace. "I gave you food, and you ate. I gave you drink, and you drank! I gave you a shelter, and you accepted it. I have shown you hospitality like no other would have, yet, how do you repay me for such deeds? With thievery and destruction!"_

_By now he was standing only a foot away, and Eamonn had no doubt in his mind that if the monster saw it fit, the beast could reach out right now and end his life._

"_That," the beast whispered with a tone so icy, venomous, and filled with hatred that it could make one's blood run cold, "is a crime worthy of death." The monster's arms sprung out and grabbed Eamonn's shoulders, spinning him around and forcing him to bare his neck. A long fang caressed his delicate pulse, tracing an invisible vein, circling it. Eamonn was trembling, unable to breath. Unable to move. "Your death," the monster purred in a whisper. "A very fitting punishment since you ended the life of my beloved rose. An eye for an eye, wouldn't you agree?"_

_At that, Eamonn found his voice and began to plead for mercy._

"_I beg of you, my lord…"_

"_Inu. I am no lord."_

"_I… I beg of you… Inu. Spare my life. This rose was for my youngest daughter. I am nothing but a merchant, and when I went to town, my other daughters asked for fine gowns in the hopes of upholding the façade that we still have a high standing in society. My youngest though… She only asked for a single rose. She never asks for much… I was only trying to give my daughter a present that she would adore with all her heart. I beg of you, Inu. Spare my life."_

_Eamonn could cringe at the squeaking sounds his voice was making. This was not his voice. This was not him. This was the sound of a man who was begging for his life. Eamonn never begged. Even when they had lost everything, he had not once begged. But this was a truly different situation, wasn't it? He had never been in danger quite like this. He had never had a monster languidly scraping their fangs against his neck._

_This was a true life or death situation._

_With every second the monster… Inu… remained silent. He could feel his life slipping further and further away from him. What would happen to his daughters? Would they ever know what had happened to him? Would they be able to take care of themselves? Find husbands and have families? Would they—_

"_I will let you go..." the monster finally spoke._

"_Oh thank you! Thank y—"_

"_But!" he sharply interrupted, fear once again washing over the man. "You have one week to return. When you do, your life is mine, and I will keep you as my prisoner until your death. If you do not return, then I can easily find you… And make no mistake, your death will follow immediately. However… if your daughter agrees to become my prisoner… I shall let you live and take her in your place."_

"_My daughter!"_

"_The one who is so fond of my roses. Or one of the others if they are truly so inclined."_

"_But… but I am lost! I will never find my way back!"_

"_You will take my horse, Darcio. He will know the way to and fro. Just whisper in his ear `Take me to my daughters,' and he will take you there. Come the end of the week when you or your daughter are to return to me, whisper `Take me to Inu.' Have no fear – your horse will follow you in time. I will also graciously allow you to return to the room that I provided for you. There, you will find a chest. I want you to fill this chest with anything you see fit, so that your daughters will not go poor in your absence – or so that you may support them with ease once more. You have three days to fill it and replenish your strength for your trip home. You will give me your word that you will return in a week, or I will kill you here and now."_

"_You—You have my word."_

"_Very good," the beast purred, deftly drawing a thin line of blood from Eamonn's neck to demonstrate just how merciful he was being before backing away from the trembling man. "You have one week once you leave. Use it wisely."_

"And with that, he was gone," finished Eamonn. "I went back in and filled and filled the trunk, but it wouldn't fill. He said that the trunk and Cossette will come to us tomorrow. I am so sorry, my dearest daughters, but I have already made the decision. I have one more week with you."

"But Papa!" Kaede cried. "You cannot go!"

"We will not let him kill you!" yelled Ayame, her voice trembling from holding back her tears. "We can go to town and tell them all of the monster living in the forest. We can then go there and ki—"

"No. The raw power that I felt when the monster had me in his arms… I have never experienced anything quite like it before. An entire country would not be enough to kill this creature, I am afraid. I will leave once the week is over. It is the only option."

Kagome, who had been twirling the white rose her father had given her during the story, looked up whispered, "I shall go."

"What?" three voices cried at once, all heads turning to look at her.

"It is my fault, is it not? If it had not been for me, we would not be in such a predicament. I shall go in Papa's place. I don't fear this _beast_ who calls itself Inu."

"No. I will not allow it," Eamonn said sternly. "I am the one the who picked the rose. Therefore, I am the one who will return to him."

"I am the one who asked for a rose. It will be me who goes." She countered, her voice rising to match that of her father's. "I will die from the grief of never seeing you again while you die by that monster's hand, and from knowing that _I_ am responsible," Kagome argued.

"You shall go nowhere near such a beast! I forbid it. This discussion is over. It is late, and we are all tired. We will start our last week together tomorrow when we are all rested. I am going to bed, as should you. Good night, my darlings." And with that, it was agreed. Eamonn would be the one to return to Inu in one week's time.

Or so he thought…

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Whoot whoot! First chapter - complete! I hope everyone liked it! I know that there are a lot of authors out there that like to put author's notes at the beginning, but I prefer them at the end. It's just a preference, and, ya know, since it's my story and all…

Aaaaaaanyways, quick things you should know about in regards to this story.

**First:** I will post a **new chapter,** **Mondays, once every two weeks**, at approx 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Meeeeaning, the next post will be January 19th! I already have chapters 2 and 3 completed as a buffer, so this promise should be relatively easy to complete! Sooo… Why Mondays? Mondays suck. So, if you like this story, then this will be a little pick me up to start the week off right! (Also, you should tell me if you like the story.)

**Second:** I've always liked it when authors are interactive with readers, so **for every review I get, I'll respond**. If you have an account, I'll try to email you through the website. If you don't, I'll just post it at the end of each chapter under the Author's Note. If you took the time to read the story and say something about it, then I feel like you should be acknowledged and thanked. It's common courtesy, you know? (Soooo…. Review? Yes? Please? Thanks :D).

**Third:** **Shout out to my wonderful beta Tequila Blackbird!** Thanks for keeping me in check and telling me when I'm being too weird and being realistic and honest with me :). Much love babe! Virtual ice cream party tonight?! Yes? I'll bring the Nutellaaaaaa! (Also, I lied. I bought fro-yo at the store today. Not ice cream. It was cheaper. I still have Nutella though. And twelve packages of ramen. IT WAS ON SALE! 6 FOR $.99! YUUUUUUUHS!)

**Fourth: **If any of you were inspired by "Pompeii" and/or thought of another song while reading our baby, feel free to comment and share! We'd LOVE to hear (pun intended - hehe)! Maybe your song will make it into one of our next chapters...*cough*hint*cough*

**AND finally:** Thank you all for reading the first chapter in this (hopefully) new and interesting twist on an old fairy tale. Review and tell me what you thought of it so far! Also,** see if you can guess the fairytale this is based on!** (Fake internet cookies to all those that get it right!)

Thanks again for reading, ya'll!

Till next time **(January 19th at approx 7 p.m. EST)**,

Ta ta for now!

_~Strawberry Grasshopper (SG)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe. Everything else is mine._

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><p><em>Tequila Blackbird's Song for Thought<em>

This chapter: "Fix You" by Coldplay

"_And the tears come streaming down your face, when you lose something you can't replace. When you love someone, but it goes to waste...could it be worse?"_

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><p><em>Chapter Two<em>

Kagome awoke early the next day to the jangling sounds of something heavy and metallic dropping to the wooden floor. She cautiously left the bed she shared with her two sisters and found her father bending over a chest, emptying it of its contents.

Its wood was stained a dark red, and it had been polished until it shone in the bright sunlight that was seeping in through the windows. The edges were covered with delicate gold filigree, and the inside of the lid had been lined in cream-colored satin. The chest alone had to be worth a small fortune as it was, regardless of the valuables her father kept removing from it.

She watched him as he cautiously counted each gold coin that he collected and separated them into different piles, only to later put them into leather purses. Occasionally, he would find a gem the size of her fist, a piece of jewelry, or a silken bolt of the most beautiful fabric she had ever seen and place them off to the side.

This must have been the chest he had told them of the night before. The one that never filled.

"Papa?" She timidly called out to him. "What are you doing?"

"Sorting through everything the beast let me take before I left. It is my intention to make sure that you and your sisters can live debt free and have a decent dowry before I leave by the end of this week. With any luck, I will be able to make sure that you three have a comfortable life moving forward. Each of these purses are for different things," he informed her, gesturing towards the first pile of purses at his left. "These are to go back to the banks. Those to my right are for our friends and family. And these large ones here in front of me are to be your dowries."

Kagome didn't know how she felt in that moment, watching her father busily count and separate and organize their futures. On the one hand, she wasn't the least bit surprised that he had put that much forethought into the chest and its ultimate purpose. Yet, at the same time, it was upsetting.

He was really going to do it. He was really going to leave them.

All because of her.

She had to ask him to bring back a rose. She couldn't have been like her sisters and ask for clothes and jewelry, or even a different type of flower. A daisy even - those littered the main path leading to and from town. He could have easily bent over to snatch one up on a break while coming home.

But no. That wasn't what she had asked for.

And now everyone was going to pay the price.

It should be her price. Not his. It wasn't fair. It wasn't _right._

She felt bitter and vile hatred bubble up from the pit of her stomach, and she stormed past her father, going outside.

Kagome heard her father call out to her, but she didn't stop for him. She kept walking and picked up a shovel, then headed out into the forest and started to dig. She didn't care if she was still in her nightgown or not - she needed to take her pain and anger and frustration out on something, and the earth seemed as good a thing as any. Besides, she had a rabid wolf to dispose of.

Kagome's nostrils flared at the thought of this… _Inu… _That disgusting, hateful creature! That beast! How dare he. _How dare he!_ What gave him the right to play God with her family? With their lives? This _monster_ was treating them like dolls and toying with them as he saw fit. Did he not understand that he was ruining lives? Playing with people's families? And now her father was going to leave them.

And why?

For something so… so… _idiotic!_

Who demanded someone live as a prisoner for taking a rose?

Who was truly that barbaric?

Had they not come far enough as a society to treat each other more civilly than that? Apparently not.

Kagome finally stabbed the shovel down into the dirt and collapsed to her knees in a fit of tears.

It wasn't right.

It wasn't fair.

Why him? Why them? How could she live without her father? She only had him and her two sisters left. That was all. No one else. She could already feel the bitter hollowness settling deep into her chest cavity - its nails digging ragged trenches into her flesh and clawing at her heart.

She didn't know when she had started to cry. She didn't even notice the tears trailing down her cheeks until she felt her father gathering her up into his arms and whispering how much he loved her. He told her how much she meant to him and how he would do anything for her and her sisters. He told her that he understood how difficult this was going to be on them, but perhaps it would be for the best – they could have a normal life once again. All three of them could now go off and find good husbands and have new families of their own. And one day, he hoped that they would look back on this week and understand why he was doing all of this. That he was saving them. That his love for them knew no bounds.

He rocked her gently back and forth until her gut wrenching sobs subsided into nearly silent hiccups that viciously jerked her body.

"I hate him," she finally whispered to her father. "I hate him with my whole body and soul."

"I know you do. But I pity him."

She pushed away from her father and looked up at him, appalled. "How can you pity that _beast_? After everything that he is doing to us?"

"I pity him because something terrible must have happened to him at some time in his life to make him think that this is a justifiable thing to do to. Whatever happened must have scarred him deeply and been truly despicable. I pity any poor soul that must bear that torment", he explained, brushing away the wet trails her tears had left behind.

"I want you to remember something before I leave, Kagome", he continued. "There are always two sides to every coin, just as there are always two sides to every story. And I want you to remember something else: not everyone is inherently evil. No one is born that way. We are molded into who we are by the fate that life hands us. Some of us overcome our tragedies and thrive, while others are suffocated by them and allow the darkness that life has shown them to take root in their hearts."

"That doesn't change how I feel about this creature," she spat in a near snarl. "I still hate him."

"I know," he soothed. "But perhaps one day you will find understanding...and perhaps forgiveness."

"I think that is very unlikely," she mumbled quietly into her father's chest, inhaling his scent and allowing it to comfort her and calm her nerves.

All Eamonn could do was smile sadly at his daughter in understanding. Had their situations been reversed, he knew without question that he would feel the same way. As it was, however, he was never going to let that be. Kagome was going to live a long, happy life, free from this monster. He was going to make sure of it.

Several days passed, and a dark shadow was cast over the family as Eamonn continued to make preparations and arrangements for his daughters before he left. The family had tried to continue on as if nothing were about to change, but everyone could feel the weight of the inevitable pressing heavily on their hearts.

It was only a matter of time.

It was on the fifth day that everything once again changed for the Beaumonts.

Kagome and her sisters had left for the nearby stream to collect new water for their chores and to drink. It was a laborious process, but one that needed to be done quite frequently. She and her sisters always insisted upon doing it as opposed to making their father collect it because of his age and his physical capabilities weren't what they once were.

As the girls returned to the cottage, they saw a white horse bent over drinking some water out of the pale they normally gave Cossette.

There was only one person that horse could belong to, and Kagome inwardly cringed.

Koga was here.

And all three girls knew it.

"I wonder what Koga wants," Ayame teased, feigning ignorance.

"Whatever it is, he's not going to get it. He couldn't have chosen a worse week to stop by." Kagome was not in the mood to refuse his marriage proposal. Again.

"You would think that he would have given up by now. It's not like my answer will change anytime soon."

"Or, you could think of it as a man who knows exactly what he wants, and isn't willing to give up until he has it. I think that's a very admirable trait," her sister countered.

"You marry him then," Kagome glared. "I don't want to."

"If Koga asked me to be his wife, I would say yes in a heartbeat," Kaede sighed. "He would make a good husband."

Kagome shot both of her sisters a scathing look, warning them to drop the topic as they put the water away.

She couldn't fault her sisters for feeling the way that they did about the man. If anything, their reactions were normal – and what her's should probably be. She just couldn't bring herself to say yes, no matter how right it might sound. Something in her gut told her that Koga wasn't the man for her, and her gut had yet to lead her astray.

When the sisters entered the house, they found their father sitting at the table and ending a toast with their visitor.

Kagome had to admit that Koga was an attractive man – his features were strong and profound. His icy blue eyes shown with merriment, and his black hair was pulled back in a sophisticated ponytail.

"Kagome! You have excellent timing!" Koga exclaimed with a grin reaching from ear to ear.

"Why is my timing excellent?" she asked cautiously. "Did something happen?"

"Kagome, why don't you sit down with us?" her father asked, gesturing to a seat across from the two men.

Her back and shoulders tensed at the request, but she still complied, resting her hands on the top of the table and nervously lacing her fingers together. She felt her heart start to race and thump harder within her chest as her sisters were dismissed. She knew that they were only going to sit on the other side of the door and listen, but the fact that her father felt it necessary to dismiss them to begin with was reason enough for alarm.

Something had happened. And she was sure that she wasn't going to like it.

"Kagome," her father began after a moment. "You know that I will do anything for you and your sisters, and you know that this includes taking care of your future. I asked Koga to come here today so that—"

"What did you do," she asked lowly.

"Kagome, my darling woman," Koga beamed, cupping her hands in his large rough ones. She watched in disgust as he traced the pad of his thumb along the outline of her own, rubbing it tenderly. "Your father has arranged our engagement!"

The world stopped spinning for her as all of the air left her body. She could hear both men continuing to speak to her, but she didn't understand what they were saying. Their words didn't make sense to her.

She couldn't breathe.

Couldn't think.

Her body felt stale and hollow. Her world, fuzzy. Her mind, numb. Everything ceased to exist, except for that one word: engagement. The one word that would have consumed any woman with excitement and joy. The one that most women longed to hear their entire lives. The one that her sisters so desperately _wanted_ to hear. Any other woman would have been thrilled.

Any _other_ woman.

Not her. Never her.

She didn't want this. She didn't want _him_. She wanted something real - something that extended outside this man's lust for her. Something that was based on more than just her body shape and the angles of her face. Something that was based on more than his attraction to her.

She wanted a say in the rest of her life, but now?

Now that was gone.

Now she was going to be _his_. She didn't want to be his. Not his. _Never_ his. But now she was – and she would never get the chance to find her own happiness.

The anger that started to seep into her body wasn't unexpected, but it was beginning to become uncontrollable.

She wasn't aware of her body lifting out of the chair, or walking out the door. She wasn't aware of her sisters following her with concerned gazes and questions. She wasn't aware of her father calling out after her, or of Koga chasing after her.

Her world was silent, colorless, and hollow.

She didn't know when she reached the stream. Didn't realize when the tears had started to inch their way out of the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks. Didn't notice her nails digging so far into the palms of her hands that she would have drawn blood had they been sharper.

Finally, her world stopped spinning, and she could hear the faint chirping of a bird in the distance and the gentle wind in the leaves of the trees above her head. Her breathing seemed to regulate and steady itself. Her heart had stopped racing.

Finally, everything was clear to her, and she had only one phrase that she could fully comprehend...

This was the beast's fault.

It was simple.

And true, wasn't it?

She could understand why her father felt that he needed to do this. He was a calculated man. He knew exactly what they would need to live a good life financially, and he took it. He knew what they would need for a good dowry, and he took it. He knew what they would need to get out of debt, and he took it. He would do anything to take care of them. She'd known that her whole life, and this was no exception.

She knew that this was why her father had disrespected her wishes to marry a man she loved, and why he had arranged a marriage for her instead. She understood why he felt that he needed to do that.

It was all because of the beast.

If that monster wasn't taking her father away from them, then nothing would have changed. Their lives could have continued on the same path that they were on.

It was a path where they didn't have much, but they still had each other. They were still happy.

Kagome picked up a rock and threw it with all of her might into the brook. She watched with a certain amount of satisfaction as it collided with the water, sending violent ripples across the top. She picked up another and threw it into the water. Then another, and another, until she was just chucking anything she could find into the brook. It didn't matter what - rocks, sticks, clumps of dirt.

Anything would do.

It felt invigorating. Like she was finally able to get out and express what she felt for that monster.

If the beast weren't here, then her father could stay with them. If the monster weren't here, then her family wouldn't be destroyed. If the beast weren't here…

She suddenly stopped her torment on the brook.

If the beast weren't here…

A slow smile spread across her face.

That was just it, wasn't it?

That was the solution to her problem. The beast being here is what had instigated everything. But if the beast weren't here…

That would just solve everything, wouldn't it? She wouldn't have to say goodbye to her father, and she could terminate her engagement and wait to marry someone she actually loved and wanted to be with.

It was very clear to her now what she had to do.

_She had to kill the beast._

* * *

><p>Kagome silently crept around the still cottage, dressing in a pair of her father's black pants and a simple white shirt. She brushed out her long black tresses and secured them into a tight ponytail so as to keep it out of her face. When she was dressed, she took some bread and cheese and wrapped it up in a cloth. She wasn't sure how long she was going to be gone, so she also packed a skin of water before leaving a note behind for her father and sisters.<p>

It wasn't long, and it wasn't detailed. It just explained to them where she was going, why she needed to do this, and that she loved them all more than anything. Finishing her note, she grabbed her father's bow and quiver of arrows before she found Darcio and climbed onto his back.

The cool night air nipped at her face as she looked back at the little cottage in the woods. This could be the last time she saw it for a while, and that thought sent a pang of sadness through her chest.

She regretted the way that she was doing this and the pain she knew it would bring upon her family when they awoke to find her missing, but she was determined. She wasn't going to let that monster destroy her family. She was going to do everything in her power to make sure of that, and if that meant leaving in the middle of the night without so much as a proper goodbye, then so be it.

She leaned forward to whisper the magical words into the large midnight stallions ear and they were off into the pitch-black night, speeding past trees and bushes and sleeping wildlife.

Kagome turned her head to look back at the house one final time, watching it slowly disappear into the dark abyss behind her. She let out a shaky breath and clenched her fingers.

It was only going to be a few days, right?

It should be easy. She was just going to go there, kill the beast, and then come back.

Simple.

So why did she feel like she had just made the biggest mistake of her life?

* * *

><p>A clawed hand tapped the side of a mirror as golden eyes watched with intrigue. The other clawed hand delicately swirled the glass it held, enjoying the heavy feel of wine shifting from within.<p>

"What an interesting girl," he murmured.

So, she was coming to kill him, was she? She wasn't afraid of what he could do to her, or the many ways he could make her and her family pay for her insolence? No. She only saw a way out of her family's rather unfortunate predicament.

How sad.

If she had chosen to come here to reason with him, then he might have left her and her family alone. Instead, she chose violence and a sword – or rather a bow and arrow it seemed – as her solution.

Granted, he had promised her family pain and suffering and a little death of their own had his wishes not been respected, so he supposed that her reaction wasn't totally unwarranted.

Still.

He also found it intriguing that her new engagement was the final event to push her over the edge.

Inu raised the glass to his lips and took a long sip of the wine, closing his eyes in ecstasy as he felt the edges of his mind beginning to haze over.

This woman wouldn't be the first who had tried to kill him, and he was sure that she wouldn't be the last. It was becoming rather tiresome. He probably should have learned his lesson by now, but like a moth drawn to a flame, so was he drawn to beautiful women with deadly intentions.

His mind briefly began to wonder back to the last woman, but he stopped himself before he could begin to dwell on the past. That never ended well, and usually left him with broken furniture. He was too tired to fix anything tonight.

"Leala," he called out into the empty room. "Leala dear," he repeated smoothly, "show me her face, would you?"

The images within the mirror shifted and changed in a blur until he was staring the woman in the face.

Her delicate and angular facial features were set upon the whitest skin he had ever seen. Her red lips were pulled into a straight line, matching the determination in her beautiful blue eyes. Her hair was wild in the night wind.

She looked like the deadliest of warriors. Dangerous and untamable.

He felt excitement stirring within his blood, making his heart pound a little harder and a little faster.

"Leala, darling, you may come back. That will be all for now."

The mirror's face returned to its normal glassy emptiness, and a silver fairy-like creature no bigger than the palm of his hand slowly rose from the center of the mirror until she was levitating a few inches above the now still surface. Her wings beat like a hummingbird as she stared back at Inu with interest and anticipation, awaiting her next command.

"What do you make of her?" Inu asked the fairy, taking another sip from his glass. "Do you think she will be a problem, or do you think she will be useful?"

Leala shrugged back at him. Leala never spoke. Not once in all his years with her had he ever heard her voice. He wasn't even sure if she could speak, and yet, he still enjoyed her company. Silent though it may be.

"Maybe I should prepare a feast for her? Just the two of us. That could be fun. And the look on her face when she gets here would be worth it, don't you think?"

Leala scrunched up her face, as if to disapprove. "Well, of course I won't invite anyone! Don't be silly," he chided. "It will already be very embarrassing for her when she can't kill me. Doing it in front of everyone else, while entertaining, is perhaps not the best of first impressions."

The fairy only tilted her head to the side when Inu sighed.

"I'm so tired Leala… So very tired," he whispered to her, standing and walking to the fireplace to stare into its flickering depths. He said nothing as he watched the burning orange dance with the hot yellow and white, mixing together to become one.

He felt the heat seeping into his body, and a sad smiled slowly splayed itself across his face.

How could something so beautiful be so deadly?

It was a question he had been asking himself for years.

Too many years.

"Leala," he called out, "that will be all for the night. Darcio won't be here for some time still, after all. We can resume again tomorrow evening."

He knew that he was now alone in the large, silent room. He didn't need to tear his gaze from the fire in order to know that. In all these years, Leala had never once betrayed or disobeyed him, and for that he was grateful.

She was the only woman he knew that he could trust, and he was appreciative of that.

Even if she was a present from _her_.

He grew angry at even the thought of _her_. He snarled, throwing his glass into the fire and enjoying the way his wine fed the flames. A somber smiled graced his lips as the wine encouraged them to grow higher, if only for a moment, before dying back down again.

He didn't need to think about _her_. The last time he saw _her_, she was absolutely ludicrous. Her demands were wild and somehow both insulting and flattering all at once. The next time he saw that woman's face would be too soon.

A clock chimed once in the distance, signaling that he had been up too long.

Tomorrow would be a long day, and he would need his rest – unless he wanted to greet his guest exhausted.

With a wave of his hand, the fire was extinguished and the room was dark.

Kagome…

He looked forward to meeting her.

Or perhaps, he should say that he looked forward to their fight.

She was an intriguing woman indeed.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note (AN):**

Ba BAM! Chapter 2, up and posted! Awwwwww yissssssssss!

To all those that guessed that this is based off of Beauty and the Beast (the real one, not the Disney movie), good job! To everyone that guessed other fairytales…. Well… There wasn't anyone, so I'm going to call that a success on my part! Virtual internet cookies for all!

I'm looking forward to seeing what people think about our darling two main characters thus far: the ever lovely Kagome, and dear sweet ol' Inu. The story has been told primarily from Kagome's view so far, but we finally got to see a little bit into Inu this time. I wonder who that her is that he keeps referring to…. Hmmm….

As always, **thank you SO much to my darling beta Tequila Blackbird for editing this monstrosity!** Much love dear! I hope that everyone also enjoyed "Fix You" as the song pick this chapter!

AND OF COURSE! **MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE who has read, faved, followed, reviewed, and everything else thus far!** Every new email I get saying I have a notification about this story makes me more and more eager to update and puts a GIANT smile on my face! Just ask Tequila Blackbird. She'll tell you it's 100% true.

Seriously though, I was NOT expecting to receive the 11 AMAZING reviews I have on FF from Chapter 1. You guys rock and push me to keep going!

So, on that note, my author responses for unregistered users are below! (registered users, check your inboxes)

**Don't forget - I respond to everyone and to all reviews!**

To everyone else, thanks for reading, PLEASE review, fav, follow, etc, and I look forward to posting **Chapter 3 Monday, February 2nd, at approx 7 pm EST!**

Ta ta for now!

~Strawberry Grasshopper (SG)

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><p><strong>Author Responses (AR):**

**Guest 1, 2, and 3:**

Thank you so much for your support and encouragement! It really means a lot to me, and really helps push me forward to complete the next chapter! I hope that you all will continue to read and review in the future, and continue to follow the story!

**demearz95:**

Thank you so much! You're too kind! I'm glad you love my writing style! Thank you SO very much for leaving the review! I hope that you will continue to enjoy reading the story going forward! Thanks again!

**phoenixwings37: (because I couldn't PM you).**

Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I really appreciate it! We started to see Inu's character a bit more this time, but we will see a lot more of him next chapter and throughout the rest of the story now. I hope that you all will continue to read and review in the future, and continue to follow the story!


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe. Everything else is mine._

* * *

><p><em>Tequila Blackbird's (but really Strawberry Grasshopper's - just this once, because the song I had on repeat this week definitely DID NOT fit, and her's did!)... Song for Thought<em>

This chapter: _"Iron"_ by _Woodkid_

"_I'm frozen to the bones, I am… A soldier on my own, I don't know the way. I'm riding up the heights of shame. I'm waiting for the call, the hand on the chest. I'm ready for the fight... and fate.__"_

* * *

><p><em>Chapter Three<em>

The moon was high in the night sky when she arrived at the castle, and fog had once again covered the ground in a thick, smothering blanket of white haze. It filled Kagome with a sense of dread – though, she admitted, that might also have something to do with the sheer exhaustion she felt. Her body ached. She was stiff in places that she didn't even know existed, and the feeling of solid ground under her feet was a cherished luxury.

It had taken her a full day to get to the monster's castle. Darcio had only allowed them to stop occasionally along the way so that they could eat and relieve themselves. Other than those few times, they had ridden constantly until they arrived. Now that she was here, however, she no longer felt their prior urgency. All she could feel now was a sense of trepidation rising from deep in the pit of her stomach.

The castle was just as large and ominous as her father had described it a few days ago. She even dared to say that it felt cold and cruel, though she would have to admit that this also might have something to do with the dangerous and vile creature that she knew lurked within.

Kagome quickly tied Darcio to a tree, confident that she would need him soon to return home. She stretched, smoothed out the folds in her clothes, and then adjusted the strap of her father's quiver on her shoulder – all the while stealing her nerves before she forced herself to climb the steps to the castle entrance.

She glanced down at her boots as they quickly tapped down on each stone step, announcing her ascent to all those who wished to listen. Then, all too suddenly, the doors loomed before her. They were thick and heavy, and they stretched towards the heavens as far as the eye could see, it seemed. Yet, they were surprisingly unguarded.

How curious, she mused to herself. It was almost as if the beast happily greeted his fate to perish at her hand.

She would gladly oblige him.

She had barely touched the door when it abruptly swung open into the dark abyss of what she could only assume was a corridor. Her eyes strained to see down it, trying to distinguish shapes or objects in the distance – but it was all in vain. It was truly a black pit of nothingness, and her stomach churned in fear of the unknown that awaited her beyond the threshold of this entrance.

In a moment of doubt and anxiety, she started to question her objectives and her purpose in coming here. Tendrils of insecurity crept into the corners of her mind and whispered prophecies of failure and her own demise to her...and she could feel herself slowly giving in to them.

There was a good chance that she would fail on this night, and that instead of killing the beast, he would kill her instead. She fought down the bile rising in her throat and wrapped her arms around her middle. She squeezed tightly as she pinched her eyes closed, doing her best to calm her aching nerves.

She could die, this was true. But this was also the only thing that could be done to save her family and secure everyone a future full of happiness.

This needed to be done, and she _would_ do it.

She swore it.

It was with this thought that she was finally able to take the deep, calming breaths that she so desperately needed and step into the darkness before her.

The first step was, by far, the hardest for her. Each step after only helped solidify her will and purpose, and by the time she had crossed the threshold of the entrance, she knew that she could do this and be successful.

Or at least that was how she felt until the doors slammed shut behind her, making her jump in fright. The walls suddenly lit up with torches, which guided her path and encouraged her to follow their lead down the corridor to whatever awaited her in the distance.

She readjusted the strap of the quiver, selecting an arrow at random from it and notching it.

While she didn't know exactly what awaited her at the end of the corridor, she had a very good idea of what it might be – and she was going to be ready for him.

The eerie silence in the corridor seemed to increase her other senses, and she was distinctly aware of the pounding of her heart. She heard it in her ears in a dull buzz and she could feel it pulsing in her fingertips, thumping in time with each of her steps.

It made her feel...

_Alive_.

Despite all of the fear, all of the danger, all of the risk... She had never felt more alive in her life than she did in this moment, nearing the end of this vacant nothingness to face the beast.

It concerned her that she felt this way, but she pushed those thoughts out of her mind when she found the end of the corridor. It seemed to open up to a much larger room bathed once again in darkness, but it was soon revealed to be the precipice of a staircase that lead down to somewhere she couldn't quite discern. The only light was what the moon provided through large glass windows bordering the room. Cautiously, she approached what she could make out to be the railing of a balcony. Perhaps it had once been a ballroom? It wouldn't have surprised her.

She lowered her bow and arrow, tentatively grazing the railing with her fingertips. It felt thick and sturdy and wooden. She absently pondered what life had once been like here, straining her eyes to look out into the darkness at large crystal chandeliers that she could barely see hanging from the ceiling. Who had once lived in a place like this? Who would need a room like this in their home?

A duke? A lord? A king?

Someone far more important than herself, of that she was sure.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" a dark voice asked, echoing off of the high walls and ceiling, making her heart race again. She quickly notched her arrow and started searching the darkness for the owner of the voice, eyes darting from wall to wall and washing across the floor.

"I could tell stories about this room that you wouldn't believe, even in your wildest dreams. Have you ever been to a ball?"

Her heart was roaring in her ears and her breath was choking her with fear. Where was he?

_Where was he?_

She couldn't see him! He had to be here somewhere!

"I'll take your silence as an affirmation to my assumptions. It's a shame. They can be quite enjoyable – or at least I always thought so. But I was also very fortunate to never need to plan one. I have heard that they can be very stressful to coordinate."

Kagome swallowed painfully, ignoring the sudden dryness in her mouth. "I doubt you have ever been to a ball," she sneered back into the darkness, having finally summoned all of her courage. "Why don't you stop hiding and show yourself?"

"Ah, yes. Show myself to the woman with a weapon. I don't see how this could _possibly_ work in my favor."

"You can't blame me for trying," she chuckled bitterly.

"On the contrary," he refuted. "I can blame you for both trying and succeeding, though I sincerely doubt that I am in much trouble."

"You don't think I could do it?"

"My dear, naïve, little _child_," he drawled. "How can you even begin to try to hurt me when you can't even see me hiding in plain sight?"

In plain sight _indeed_, she silently mocked. "Ah, so you admit that you are hiding?" she countered as she began searching for something that she could have missed before. "Why?" she demanded.

"I believe that it is better to 'know thine enemy' first. It often lends a strategic advantage – something rather crucial when there are those who seek to spill your blood, would you not agree?"

He was here. She knew that he was here, so where... Her eyes widened when she reexamined a shadow cast by one of the widows on the floor. She had originally dismissed the shape as a shadow from a tree or a bush, but now...

She turned her gaze to the windows and chuckled softly, shifting her body and the arrow to face him. "I found you."

There he was, sitting on a ledge nearly thirty feet away from her, one knee bent to prop up his arm while his other leg dangled lazily off the side. His back was slumped backward to lean against the wooden frame, and in his other hand, he examined a red apple as if it were the most interesting thing he had ever seen. His entire body and demeanor spoke of indifference and nonchalance, and yet, she could somehow see past this facade.

She knew that he was not only powerful, but dangerous and deadly as well.

"So it seems you have," he smirked. "Now, impress me," he challenged, throwing the apple straight up into the air.

She didn't think and didn't breathe. All she could do was feel as her fingers let go of the arrow. She watched it soar through the air and deftly sink itself into the window frame five inches above the beast's head, nicking the apple and altering its descent towards the ballroom floor. She watched, impressed that he caught it, never once having taken his glowing, golden eyes away from her.

He made a show of holding up the apple and examining the long cut she had made in its side. He then returned his gaze to match her own, staring into her eyes and reaching above his head to pull the arrow out of the frame with no apparent difficulty. He tapped the tip of the arrow head with his index finger as if to test its sharpness, and then tossed it to the side next to him on the ledge. He did all of this with a deliberate air of indifference before taking a bite of the apple.

Everything this beast did seemed to have a purpose and a goal. Though they were languid and lackadaisical, there were no wasted movements. Nothing he had done so far had been uncalculated. This was all a veiled show of intimidation and power.

"I must admit – you did not disappoint. I am indeed impressed," he called down to her. "You are still rather new to the bow and arrow though, are you not?"

"Why do you care?"

"I suppose I don't," he conceded. "You have quite a bit of raw talent, despite your horrible posture."

"My _horrible posture_?" She snarled indignantly, grabbing another arrow from her quiver and letting it loose two inches below where her first arrow had landed.

"Careful now, girl. The first one was free. The second one was greedy. If there is a third, you will not like the consequences."

"_My father _taught me how to use this bow, and I will _not_ allow you to make a mockery of him," she spat, her voice trembling with barely concealed rage.

"Then either your father is a horrendous teacher, or he is a fool in need of a lesson himself."

Kagome couldn't even hear the satisfying thump of the arrow sinking into the frame an inch below the second one. She hadn't even realized she had pulled a third arrow from her quiver. However, she knew that she wouldn't have stopped herself from doing it even if she had.

"You _beast!_ You _monster! _How_ dare _you!" she spat, and that seemed to finally be his breaking point. Her only warning was the narrowing of his glowing eyes before he disappeared from the ledge into the darkness. It was like he had never been there to begin with – the only evidence of his existence being the three arrows and the red apple with a bite out of it that he had left behind.

The air suddenly left her body in a giant whoosh as she felt herself being jerked backwards into a wall of hardness, something sharp digging into both of her forearms.

"My dear, naïve, little _child_," he whispered from behind, his hot breath fanning over her ear and sending a shiver of fear up her spine. "You're in my world now, and here, you're the monster. Not me."

Kagome pinched her eyes shut and swallowed hard. He was keeping her arms pinned down to her sides and even though she was straining to get away from him, she couldn't. He was too strong.

She had drastically underestimated him.

"Did I not warn you that there would be consequences?" he purred. "I _did_ warn you. Perhaps I stuttered and I didn't make myself clear. Is that it, my dear, little child?"

She was frozen with fear. She couldn't respond.

"Nod your head yes, _child_," he cooed condescendingly, and she found herself obeying before she could even think to stop. "Very good," he praised mockingly as she felt his grip lessening a fraction. He was still firmly holding her, but she was no longer in pain.

"Consequences... They are interesting things, aren't they? Every action has them, whether they be good or bad. Now, you just tried to kill me three times. What do you think the consequences will be for that?"

"You're going to kill me," she whispered lowly. So lowly, she wasn't sure she had even said anything at all.

"I could kill you...you're right. It would be so simple, too. I could snap your neck. It would be quick and easy...but maybe I should make it long and painful?"

She bit back the urge to whimper, and she hated herself for it. What she hated more, though, was that she had failed her family. She had come here in the hopes of freeing them all from his hold, and all she had managed to do was—

"However, I don't think I want to do that," he declared, having decided upon a course of action. He let go of her and she tumbled to the ground, no longer able to support her own weight on her shaking legs. When had that started? She wasn't sure. Kagome leaned forward onto her hands, her uneven breaths shaking her body. She was barely able to make out the shape of his black boots that appeared in front of her.

She couldn't say anything. She couldn't even stop him. She just closed her eyes and prayed that whatever it was that he was planning to do would be fast and painless.

"You've managed to intrigue me, little _child_. It takes quite a bit to do that, and I have a deal to uphold. Your life in exchange for your father's foolishness. You have a raw talent as well," he stated simply, crouching down in front of her and hooking a clawed finger under her chin. He tilted her face up so he could look into her eyes. The dam that had been holding her tears at bay finally ruptured against her will, and they silently began to creep down her face. Inu gently brushed them away with the pad of his thumb and watched as she cringed in fear, despite bestowing upon her what he would call an act of kindness.

"Look at me," he commanded, and once again, she found herself obeying against her will.

"Good. You want me dead." It was a statement, not a question. "I have wants, too. I will make you a deal, little girl: you will live here with me, just as originally planned. However, you will now have certain responsibilities. Chores, if you will. You will also train, because I will make you a new deal. In exactly one year's time, if you still desire it, I will give you one more opportunity to kill me. Just one. If you can do it, everything here belongs to you, and you are free to do with it as you please. If you can't, then you will be my bride. Do you accept?"

Kagome was dumbfounded. What kind of deal was this? Who would even think of something so absurd? Who would willingly place their life into such a position? She had just started learning how to use a bow and arrow, and she could scrape an apple in mid air already. After practicing for a year, the beast stood no chance of survival. Why was he making such a deranged bet?

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you doing this? Why would you risk your life so casually?"

"My reasons are my own," he smirked, "now, agree to the terms, little girl. It's your only choice."

She hated him for saying that, but they both knew that he was right. It was either this, or her rather sudden and possibly painful death. Given her options, she almost preferred the latter.

"I accept the premise of the bet, but not the terms. I want to hear all of them first. I don't want any tricks, and I want to be certain that I understand what it is that I am agreeing to."

The beast's smirk widened into a toothy grin. "You continue to surprise me, girl. Most would have accepted blindly, if only from the fear of losing their life."

"I am not like most."

"That I can see. Come. It's been a long journey for you, and I'm sure that you would like something to eat. We can discuss the terms as you dine."

Inu held out his hand, inviting her to take it. She saw for the first time how long and deadly his claws really were – they looked like tiny swords attached to each one of his fingers. He truly could have hurt her when he was holding onto her arms. The fact that she remained unharmed was a small miracle in itself.

She realized in that moment that she had been a fool to think that she could ever kill him. Between his speed and his physical features, it was only by his grace that she was still alive. If she were to have ever been successful in killing him, she would have had to take him by complete surprise.

She never stood a chance.

"You would do well to obey, little girl," Inu commanded, sensing her hesitation.

With those words, Kagome felt her previous bravado return. Yet, much to her chagrin, she bit her tongue and fought the urge to sneer a smart retort. Instead, she finally placed just her fingertips onto his palm in such a way that she could hastily snatch them away if she suddenly felt the need.

The beast's grin widened even further, and she once again found herself suppressing yet another urge – this time, it was a shiver of fear.

She could feel Inu guiding her toward the stairs, and as they began their descent, the room was slowly filled with the soft glow of hundreds of flickering candles that lined the walls and littered the floor.

Kagome searched for something or someone that could have triggered the sudden illumination, but she couldn't find anything. Even more surprising was the mysterious appearance of a table filled with food in the center of the ballroom.

"How…" she began, her words trailing off as the beast led her to a chair at the table. There were too many questions flooding her mind – she didn't know where to begin. "When did this get here? How did the lights turn on? Who else is here?"

The beast chuckled dryly as he sat down across from her, pouring himself a glass of something amber-colored that she assumed to be brandy. "How indeed," he murmured mostly to himself, taking a swig from the glass.

"What does that mean?" she questioned, watching him as he swirled the liquid in the glass.

"It means that you have much to learn about me and life here," he told her, taking another sip from his glass. "Now, eat something. I know you're hungry."

Kagome looked down at her plate and poked at her food suspiciously. "Why am I eating when you clearly aren't?"

"It's not poisoned." he coolly replied, clearly not convincing her. "What do I have to gain from killing you?"

"What do you have to gain from marrying me," she countered, fiercely meeting his dark gaze head on.

"You are very direct."

"I don't see the point in easing into this conversation. Besides, we are supposed to be agreeing to the terms of this 'bet' you have proposed. Is that not part of the terms?"

"Fair enough," the beast conceded. "I have my reasons for marrying you."

"Such as?"

"My reasons are my own."

"That is the second time you have said that, and it is still a poor excuse for an answer," she countered, finally starting to eat the food before her. She took note of the plates and utensils. She guessed that the fork alone was worth more than her entire old house. "Why do you refuse to be truthful and honest? You are capable of such qualities, are you not?"

"I would watch your tongue if I were you, _little girl_. While you have moxie and gusto, you are teetering on the edge of impertinence. You will not like the result if you cross that line. However, if you must know, I want to marry you because I find it utterly ironic. You leave home trying to escape what you think will be a loveless marriage, only to be trapped in what you're sure will be yet another one. It shows me how far you are willing to go for survival and self preservation. It proves to me that you will do anything to escape a hollow, unfulfilling life. Are you willing to sacrifice your silly ideals of love in order to live, if you fail? If you accept these conditions, I'll know just how serious you are."

"Because almost killing you doesn't show how serious I already am? You still didn't tell me how this benefits you. And how did you know about my engagement?" Kagome demanded, frustrated when he only picked up his glass and took another sip from it, still smirking.

"For our purposes, my response should be sufficient. I believe that we were supposed to be discussing the terms of the bet?"

Kagome glared, but quickly relented. She made a silent note to return the conversation back to his knowledge of her engagement later. "What do you expect me to do here?"

"Normal tasks like cooking, cleaning, mending clothing – the same tasks you used to do at your cottage with your sisters."

"How do you know what I used to do?"

"I have an active imagination," he dismissed, casually gazing over the rim of his glass, causing Kagome to let out a sigh of frustration. He was dancing around the question and they both knew it, and yet, she still couldn't corner him on the subject. She was afraid that she had been reprimanded one time too many already, and after her earlier scrape with death with this beast, she had resigned herself to heeding his warnings for now.

"What are my living conditions to be? What would be the point in agreeing to something if I come to wish that you would have just finished me off to begin with?"

"Unless you try to kill me again between today and in a year from now, you will never have to worry about that."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning I will make sure that you are comfortable. I have already arranged your chambers, and I'm sure that you will be quite satisfied with them. I think that you will be quite pleased with the view of the garden. I'll take you there after you finish."

Kagome lowered her gaze, playing with her food and pushing it around on her plate. There was a question she had yet to ask that kept gnawing at her. She wasn't sure she wanted the answer to it, yet the nature and premise of the entire situation was so strange… so… _odd_, that she needed to know.

"Go on," the beast finally spoke, drawing her out of her thoughts. "I know you have more questions for me than that," he declared smugly with a clear disposition of arrogance, taking great satisfaction in her discomfort. He raised both arms and held them out to his sides, palms upraised – almost as if he were waiting for angels to fall from the sky and shower him with glory. His fangs glinted dangerously in the candlelight. "Please, go on. Ask away. I'm curious to know what else you could possibly want to know before we can make this little game official."

"Is that what this is to you? A game?" Kagome demanded, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"Dear little girl, is that not what any bet is?" he laughed, lowering his arms again and tucking them behind his head.

"Not this one. This is far too serious to be taken lightly. Think of what is at stake – my marriage, and your life. Does your life mean nothing to you?"

Inu's eyes darkened for a moment before he reconstructed the mask that he had previously held in place so well. It was brief – so fast that Kagome almost began to question if she had even seen it at all.

Almost.

Inu was, without a doubt, hiding something. Most likely a great many things. She only wished she knew what they were so that she could make more calculated decisions.

"My life is my own. I am free to do with it as I wish. If that includes wagering it in a bet I'm sure I will win, then that is my decision."

"And why are you so sure you will win? You saw what I can already do. In a year, I will be that much better. What makes you think that you stand a chance?"

"What makes you think you will succeed? Tell me, what do you see happening in a year from now? Exactly one year. Where will we be? You? Me? Am I tied to a pole, unable to move, with a target painted on my chest? And do you think that I would agree to that? Better yet, do you foresee yourself hunting me through the forest? Or perhaps the castle?

For how long will you be hunting me? Will I have a head start? If so, how much? Will I have a chance to defend myself? And what happens if you _do_ manage to hit me with an arrow? Yes, _an_ arrow. You have one shot, not one chance. That means you have only one arrow. Now, assuming you do manage to strike me, it would need to be a shot wherein I die – if not instantly – then within minutes.

Do you not see how difficult this will be? The real question, _little girl_," Inu paused, taking another sip from his drink and pointing at her with the hand that held the glass. "The real question is: Why do you think _you_ will succeed?"

"I know I will," Kagome rasped, determination setting her veins on fire. "I have to."

"Why?"

"I need to. For my father."

"Your father," Inu chuckled humorlessly. "The love of the child knows no bounds for their sires. I will say this about the man – when under pain of death, he does obey quite nicely. But then again, so do most men.

So, here is what will happen: Come noon, you will hunt me through the forest. I will have a twelve minute head start, and you shall have until midnight to find me – you see, I'm rather fond of the simplistic romance behind everything being twelve. It has a certain _air_ to it, wouldn't you agree? Once you shoot, I have one chance to defend myself. These terms are non-negotiable. Now, I've become rather bored with this conversation...but continuing in the spirit of generosity I have shown you tonight, I will allow you to ask one more question. If I were you, I would make it a good one."

"Then I shall. How do I know I can trust you, or anything that you have said tonight? How do I know that you won't try to kill me one night while I am sleeping? Or that this is all an elaborate ruse with some...ulterior purpose?"

"You can't," he stated bluntly. "There is no way of knowing for sure that I won't turn my back on our deal, nor is there any way of knowing that I won't come for you in the middle of the night. But, let me ask you something – what do I have to gain by killing you? Absolutely nothing, other than a body to dispose of. You, on the other hand, have everything to gain, so how do I know that I can trust you?" he countered, leaning forward.

"The answer to that is that I don't," he continued. "You've already tried to kill me, and if I'm gone, then you walk away from this place a free woman. You can go right back to the life you had. It's very tempting, isn't it? Yet, I know you won't for two reasons:

First, that life back there includes the before mentioned loveless marriage that you are trying to escape. Do you really think that by killing me and returning home, your father and fiance will act as if it never existed in the first place? You leave here, and you are just trapped in another prison. By staying and engaging in our bet, you at least stand to benefit.

Second, your father is a man of his word. That means that you must be as well, or else it's a mark against him and your family. How could you ever return to your father and look him in the eye, knowing that you had betrayed him and his ideals?"

"So we are to blindly trust one another?" she questioned, utterly baffled.

"If that is not enough for you, then I will gladly rephrase my question to this: What choice do you have? You have positioned yourself in a way where you don't have one. So, let's shake on it and be done," he concluded, rising from his seat and reaching out his hand.

Kagome hesitated for a moment before following his example and shaking his hand in agreement. The overwhelming largeness of his hand enveloping her smaller one and the feeling of his deadly claws scraping delicately against her hand wasn't lost on her. It only served to remind her that he was right. She didn't have a choice. If she wanted a chance to survive, she would have to subject herself to a year under his authority – and if she didn't, she wouldn't like the end result.

"Good. Now that we have these affairs settled, let me show you to your room. You have an early day tomorrow," he smiled wolfishly, his fangs gleaming in the glowing candlelight.

Inu picked up his glass and led her out of the ballroom, through several corridors, and up a staircase. Kagome followed him silently, doing her best to memorize where he lead her, intimidated by the many light fixtures that would come alive as they neared them.

Finally, they came to a stop in front of a large, heavy door.

"This will be your chamber," Inu announced, unlocking the wooden door and holding it open. "You will stay here for the next year. As I said before, I hope that you enjoy the view. You can expect me at eight tomorrow morning. Until then, pleasant dreams."

And with that, he was gone, leaving her at the mouth of her room. Alone. She closed the door soundlessly, leaning against it and sliding to the floor. The events of the day were finally taking their toll on her.

Tears began to silently slip down her cheeks as her emotions began to get the best of her, whispering doom into her heart. She had been a fool to think that coming here and killing him would be the answer to all of her problems. She liked to think of herself as a woman, but the beast was right – she was nothing more than a naïve, little child pretending to be something that she wasn't.

He was right. How could she have honestly thought that this would free her of her engagement to Koga? It hadn't been the only reason for her coming, though. Her father was, and would always be, one of the biggest inspirations for her departure. Now, unless she did kill the beast in a year's time, she was certain that she would never see him again. Or her sisters, for that matter.

She choked back a sob as her tears began to intensify.

She really had been a fool, and now she was going to pay the price for her actions.

Her fear and her sobs wracked her entire body, forcing her to cry until she could cry no more. Sleep then overcame her exhausted and aching body.

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><p>Inu listened to the broken girl on the other side of the door and forced himself to remain where he was. It didn't surprise him in the least that he would find her crying. On the contrary – he expected it. Not that he <em>wanted<em> the poor girl to cry, but he _had_ managed to sufficiently destroy her life in the mere span of an hour.

Pushing away from the door, Inu continued making his way through the castle until he entered his library, deep in thought.

He hadn't intentionally been looking to spy on her. He was merely on his way to his nightly observational with Leala. It was how he kept in touch with the world around him after thirty years of complete and utter isolation. Nonetheless, he felt badly for the poor girl.

Her entire life had just been ripped away from her. Everything she had once known and loved was now nothing more than a distant memory as she was now thrust into a new world.

His world.

He could empathize with how she felt, and he pitied her.

She had been here for merely a few hours. He had lived this way for _years_.

It was going to be quite an adjustment for her, he was certain. Yet, he still maintained that she had brought this upon herself. If only she had come here looking to negotiate instead of kill…then things might have been different for her.

As it was, however, he would be lying if he said that he wasn't glad that she had taken this approach. Now he had a chance for everything to finally change…

Inu opened a desk drawer and pulled out a green, heavily-lacquered box with gold floral filigree on the sides. He gently ran his fingers over the top in a light caress before opening it. There lay the dormant mirror that contained Leala. He picked her up out of the velvet-lined box and awakened her.

At his voice, her small, spritely body appeared in the glass surface, and she rose up from within to hover a few inches above the once again calm mirror. She regarded him with curious eyes, awaiting his command as he flicked his wrist and lit the fireplace on the other side of the room.

"Show me her father," he finally commanded, and as always, Leala obeyed. She dove head first back into the mirror, and the surface darkened to an eerie black. It would only be a few minutes before the fairy found the man. Inu sat down in a chair by the fire and waited for the vacant emptiness to animate with the image of Kagome's father.

Inu propped his arm up on the edge of the chair, resting his fist against his mouth in thought as he watched the man sitting in his own chair by his own fire. He looked weary and exhausted. His clothes were dusty and he was smudged with dirt. Inu concluded that he had gone off after Kagome had left – most likely to try and reason with her. It was too late for him now, however. Unless one knew the way to his castle, it was nearly impossible to find again.

Granted, the man had been able to do it once before, but that had been an accident.

Now, however, the man would never be able to find his way back. Not unless Inu willed it. He had made sure of that, despite the overbearing exhaustion it had brought upon him afterwards.

Inu observed the man as he read – most likely not for the first time – a note. The script was feminine in nature, and while he was tempted to ask Leala to get a better look at it, he refrained from making the request. Some things are better left alone and private, he reasoned. Besides, he had a very good idea as to what it said, and who it was from. He would allow the poor man to have a few moments alone, and he summoned Leala back, having finally seen enough.

Once again, at his request, Leala appeared before him. Her silver body hovered just above the calm surface of the glass.

"What do you think, Leala?" Inu inquired. "The poor man should know what has become of his daughter, shouldn't he? Should I send a little warning to him saying that it's not in his best interests to come after her? Or should I just allow Kagome to do it?"

Leala, silent as always, flew to his desk and sat atop his ink well and cocked her head to the side.

"You think I should? Perhaps we should both recount our tale? Or is once enough for the poor man?"

The fairy held up one finger, and Inu nodded in agreement. He then rose to pull out some blank parchment and a new quill.

Thick, bold, sharp lines crossed the paper in his hand, stripping it of its once naked purity. In its place was a harsh truth he was sure would cut into Mr. Beaumont like the sharp edge of a blade cutting into the soft, uncalloused flesh of a newborn babe.

Finished, he stored the paper in his desk drawer, deciding to send it out in the morning. He walked over to a window and stared out at the moon in thought.

One year.

He could make it one more year. He was sure of it.

And if not, then he was determined to make it the best last year he possibly could.

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><p>AN:

MY INTERNET HAS BEEN DOWN FOR THE LAST THREE HOURS. WE DON'T UNDERSTAND MY FRUSTRATION WITH THIS. I'm posting all of this before it goes AWOL again.

As always, thanks to everyone that has read and reviewed! This is by far my FAVORITE chapter so far, and I'm curious to see what people think of it! Seriously. You guys don't know how much these reviews mean to me :). They are awesome, and you guys are awesome! Thanks again to Tequila Blackbird for editing!

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 are already done, so stay tuned for **Chapter 4 **on **Monday February 16**, around **approx 7 pm EST** (as always. If I can even say always. Have I earned that right yet?).

And now, of course, the Author Responses for Ch 2 for users without a FF account, because every review deserves a response :).

Ta ta for now!

~Strawberry Grasshopper (SG)

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><p>AR:

_**phoenixwings37**__**:**_ Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thanks again for the wonderful review, and I hope that you will continue reading come the 16th!

_**Guest 1 and 2: **_Thank you so so so very much for the awesome reviews! It really means a lot to me that you would take the time out to write something about the story so far :). I hope you both enjoyed this chapter, and I hope that you will come back for chapter 4 in 2 short weeks!


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe. Everything else is mine._

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><p><em>Tequila Blackbird's Song for Thought<em>

This chapter: "Ghost" by Ella Henderson

"_I had to go through hell to prove I'm not insane, had to meet the devil just to know his name...I keep going to the river to pray, 'cause I need something that can wash all the pain, and at most I'm sleeping all these demons away, but your ghost, the ghost of you...It keeps me awake."_

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><p><em>Chapter Four<em>

Morning light flooded the bedroom as the rosy fingertips of dawn stretched inwards from the outside world, gently caressing the castle and rousing it from its previously contented slumber. Kagome rubbed her eyes to rid them of the last remnants of exhaustion.

Her whole body was stiff. It burned just to move her legs, and she was certain that falling asleep on the floor hadn't helped much in overcoming the pains acquired throughout her journey to the castle. Her whole body ached. Her entire face felt crusty from crying herself to sleep the night before, but she somehow found the strength to push herself up off of the floor. She started taking in her surroundings for the first time as she looked around for something to use to clean her face.

The room that Inu had _generously_ bestowed upon her as her chamber was actually rather large. It had tall, pale walls and a stunning crystal chandelier. It was absolutely beautiful, and it took her breath away. There was a large canopy bed pushed against one of the walls with luscious gold drapes and flowered, rose-colored sheets. It was a striking contrast against the bed's bright white frame.

An end table had been placed on either side of the bed. The one on the right had an ornate candelabra and a vase filled with hydrangeas, violets, and green leaves. The one on the left had delicate porcelain figurines of women and dogs and geese on it, as well as another candelabra.

On the other side of the room, there was a large desk with a mirror and a gorgeous view out of a large window. At the edge of it, she found a soft-bristled brush with a handle of gold, as well as a matching hard-toothed comb and various containers of makeup and perfume. Her fingers danced over them, her eyes wide with awe. She knew how much something like that was worth. They were not meant for common people like herself, and yet, she had been given these to use…it was almost unfathomable.

Kagome peered out the window in front of her. It overlooked a garden and part of her balcony. As Inu had promised, the view was breathtaking.

Halfway between the bed and the desk, she found a firm couch with a soft red seat and a full bookcase next to a fireplace. Just like the brush and comb, she was in awe of their worth. She had never seen so many beautiful books in one place before. For many people, a book like one of these was worth more than half the money they could ever hope to make in a lifetime. Her fingers danced over the many spines, delighting in the titles she found embossed in gold upon the leather. Some were old classics, and others were so current that she had only heard whispers of them.

Upon the wall opposite the bookcase, Kagome found four more things of interest: two wooden doors, a dresser, and more panels of tall drapes. When she tried the first door, she found herself looking into a washroom. She quickly cleaned her face from the remains of the tears from the night before, and then the rest of her body from the dirt and dust she had picked up along her journey to the castle.

The other door hid the most spectacular sight of all – it was a room filled with the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. They were all made of the finest fabrics and laces, modeled after the latest fashions, and covered with the most divine jewels.

She was almost afraid to touch them. However, upon looking down at the dirty shirt and pants she had taken from her father, she couldn't help but put on one of the dresses she had found. It was a simple yellow sundress decorated in pearls and lace. It was not one of the more elaborate ones that puffed up and out around her waist, but rather, it hung straight down off of her hips while clinging to her bust and shoulders.

It was exquisite.

She then found a pair of matching shoes, and after slipping them on as well, she looked at herself in a mirror. She was stunned. She wouldn't say that she was conceited, but even she had to admit that she looked beautiful.

She left the room filled with the dresses and almost excitedly started for the dresser. If her room had been filled with such wondrous and expensive and rare objects so far, she couldn't even imagine what the dresser held hidden from her. Kagome pulled on the first drawer, and she was met with resistance. The drawers were locked, and she had no idea why. She was tempted to take the fire poker that rested next to the fireplace and try to break into them, but decided against it. Surely there was a reason why they were locked, and whatever that reason might be, she decided that she was more than content with what she had found already in the rest of the room.

Kagome glanced over at the grandfather clock that rested next to the desk on the other side of the room as it chimed seven times. She had an hour before she could expect the monster at her door. Her eyes drifted from the clock to the desk, and to the makeup and perfumes on it. They were in her room, so logically, that meant she could use them as she wished, right?

She bit her lip, glancing at the clock once more.

She _did_ have an hour…

Kagome sat down at the desk and started opening the different containers of makeup, and she smelled each of the different bottles of perfume before she started to brush her hair and put it up. She took in her appearance, and then glanced back down at the jars before her. She selected a red lip color and put it on. After examining herself in the mirror, she decided that she needed no more for now. Kagome then picked up one of the bottles of perfume and dabbed some on her wrists and neck.

Finally satisfied with her work, she decided to go out to the balcony and enjoy the view of the garden below in the morning sun. Gently pushing the gossamer-like curtains aside, she stepped out onto the hard stone.

The balcony itself was simple and stone grey – in fact, nothing was extraordinary about it other than the view below. Kagome rubbed her neck, warming it from the slight morning chill she felt gently nipping at it and her face. She then approached the railing, looking down below at the benches and flowers.

It looked so peaceful and beautiful. It was the sort of sight that could set a troubled soul at ease, and she could feel her lips pull themselves into a soft smile. She gently touched them, and for the first time in almost a month, she felt at ease.

It had been a long time since she had smiled.

The last time her lips had even so much as turned up had to have been before her father had left for port. It felt like it had been an eternity… Had that really only been a month ago? She knew that it had, but still...it was hard to fathom.

Kagome leaned forward to rest her arms on the rail. All she wanted was to get a better view of the garden below, when her body abruptly seized and froze her in place.

She suddenly found it hard to breathe, and her vision darkened. The world around her began to spin.

She was confused and terrified.

What was happening to her? Why couldn't she move? She tried to mentally will her limbs to function, but they wouldn't. She found herself silently begging them to twitch and shift, even just a little, desperately praying for this sudden loss in her motor skills to end. The darkness enveloping her vision seemed to laugh mockingly at her distress – it was a sinister and wicked emptiness that devoured her whole person. It consumed her, drawing her into a world filled with nothing. A world where time ceased to exist. A barren world where there was nothing but all-consuming terror and confusion.

She didn't understand this. Why was everything suddenly dark? She felt like she was being consumed by evil from the inside out, leaving behind nothing of who she was and should be. All she could feel was overbearing cold and blackness as she stood there frozen, gasping for air and willing her body to move and function. Her lips trembled, and she could feel tears once again slipping down her cheeks. Fear crept up her spine until even the nape of her neck tingled.

She heard a noise in her ear. It almost sounded like a woman's flirtatious yet mischievous laugh and the muffled sounds of a deeper voice – maybe that of a man? Moments of nothingness then followed until finally, her vision began to clear...and what she saw was preposterous.

_Cold, bitter wind whipped at her face in the night air. The railing she was leaning on had been crusted over with ice and dusted in snow, much like the rest of the world around her, it seemed. The once vibrant garden was now nothing more than a dead and barren wasteland buried under several inches of snow. Only the bravest of plants dared protrude from the magical, sparkling, white blanket of death below._

_Kagome wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep the heat in as the wind increased and began whipping snow off of branches and overhangs. She turned to head back inside and try to figure out what had happened to her when she noticed something...she wasn't alone._

_A man rested his forearms against the railing, staring down at the barren ground below. Kagome felt her heart catch in her throat, and a slight blush began to stain her cheeks. His hair was as black as the darkness surrounding them, and his eyes were as __brown as smooth pools of chocolate.__ He was the most handsome man she had ever seen, despite the deep sorrow marring his face. The wind gently stirred his hair and made her shiver, but he seemed unaffected by it. She slowly approached him, wondering why he was so sad. He drew in a breath before letting it out in a long, slow sigh._

_Suddenly, the curtains were pushed aside and a woman appeared at the entrance to the balcony. She was stunning. Long, __black__ hair cascaded down her shoulders and over her back. Her eyes were a __deep blue__, intense and full of emotion._

"_Excuse me, sir," Kagome called out to him, trying to get his attention. She had to try to figure out what had happened to her. He didn't respond, and she tried again once more, to no avail._

_What was wrong with him? Couldn't he hear her? Or was he just rude and ignoring her?_

"_Darling," the woman cooed as she approached the man, walking right past Kagome. It was as if she couldn't see her… _

_Was that it? Could they…was it possible that they couldn't see her? _

"_Won't you come in?" the woman continued, oblivious to the turmoil raging within Kagome. "It is very cold out and I don't want you to become ill."_

_He slowly turned to face the woman and she raised her hands to cradle his face, feeling the cold radiate off of him and into her palms. She ran her thumb gently and lovingly over his lips._

"_See? You are already chilled to the bone," she chided._

"_I'll be fine," he replied, dismissing her concerns._

"_What you will be is sick."_

_He chuckled as he reached out and grabbed around her waist. He pulled her to him before leaning down to place a gentle and chaste kiss on her forehead._

"_You are always worrying about me."_

"_Of course I am," she said. "I am your fiancé now. That means that I should always fuss over you."_

_He suddenly frowned, which worried Kagome. He looked utterly forlorn, but the other woman could not understand his eyes. She mistook it for what it was not._

_Worry._

"_I know that you fear that horrible monster, but you should be at ease. Now that we are to be wed, you can overcome anything. Together, we can defeat all obstacles in our path and crush any army who dares stand in our way." She said this as she grabbed his hand, and she pulled him closer to her body. She then rose to kiss him, oblivious to the increased look of pain and sadness in his eyes._

"_Now, why don't you join me for that hot bath I drew? _Something_ has to warm you!"_

_His eyes… They were just so sad…_

And just like that, they were gone. It was like they had never been there at all. She found herself surrounded by bright morning light and early spring air just as quickly as she had left it. She could even hear birds chirp gaily in the distance.

Kagome found it very hard to breathe. Her lungs filled in short, quick breaths and her head felt light and spinning.

She couldn't breathe.

She couldn't breathe!

Why? _Why couldn't she breathe?_

She was vaguely aware of her body slumping to the ground against the rail as she continued to gasp for air.

Kagome closed her eyes, trying to regain control as she continued gasping for air. When she opened them next, she found herself cradled against a body. A clawed hand rested on her arm and another ran through her hair. He turned her face so that her mouth and nose were pressed into his chest as he continued to stroke her hair, rub her arm, and rock back and forth to slowly calm her down.

Once she was breathing normally again, she continued to sit in his lap, cradled in his arms. She couldn't bring herself to move as her thoughts raced back to the events on the balcony.

What had happened to her? Was it going to happen again? Who were those people? Why couldn't they see or hear her? It was like she was a ghost…or were they the ghosts? Were they dead? And how had that even happened to her in the first place? Was this some sort of dark magic?

"Are you alright?" Inu's rough voice questioned, halting her train of thought.

Yes.

She wanted answers.

And she knew just where to start.

"You," she growled lowly, pushing away from him and distancing herself from him on the other side of the room.

"Me?"

"What did you do to me?" she demanded in a snarl.

"What do you mean, 'what did I do to you'? Not a thing! You were hyperventilating on the balcony when I came to get you, so I took you back inside and tried to get you to calm down! Lord only knows what was going on before I came!"

"Liar! You've done nothing but lie to me and bring pain into my life! Why can't you just leave me and my family alone?" she spat back.

"And what makes you think I've lied to you?" Inu's eyes narrowed dangerously, and for the first time in the bright light of this new day, Kagome could finally, truly, see him.

Dangerous, slitted golden eyes. Ferocious fangs. Deadly claws. Triangular ears.

He wasn't human. She had no idea _what_ he was, or what he was honestly capable of.

"What are you?" Kagome finally whispered venomously. What did she honestly know about this creature?

Nothing. And maybe if she knew more about him, she could learn more about what had just happened to her.

Inu simply blinked at her in sheer surprise. He was dumbfounded. He had not been expecting that question from her, and he was reluctant to tell her. How could he? She and her emotions had been unpredictable since the moment he first met her. How would she react to something like this? He himself hadn't even been accepting of how he was, at first. How could she?

"Tell me," she prodded once again, sensing his hesitation. "I'm going to be living here for a year. I think I should know who I am living with."

"Sit," Inu finally relented, gesturing to the empty spot on the couch beside him.

"I would rather stand."

He raised his brow, but didn't comment otherwise. Instead, he leaned back into the couch and finally answered her question. "You're right. You should know what I am. It's only fair since you're no longer in the human world."

"What do you mean?"

"One question at a time, little girl," he scolded, raising a hand to silence a potential onslaught of inquiries. "I was once a human, much like yourself...until I was betrayed by someone close to me. Now I am a half-demon, and no – I will not tell you how that happened. You aren't ready for that."

A half-demon… She had never heard of anything like that before, yet, she knew that he had to be telling her the truth. Here he was, after all. His physical features alone were all the proof she needed.

"Would you elaborate?" she pressed, and Inu could sense her genuine curiosity. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means that I don't just look different. It means I can do things that humans can't. There is a world that runs parallel to your world, one that humans don't know about – and if they do, very few speak of it out of fear and misunderstanding. It's an ancient world. A magical world. Humans who _are_ a part of it often live their lives in fear, never letting others know what they know and what they can do because of the danger. In time, I'll tell you more about that world. But not today. You _must_ trust me when I tell you that there is only so much you can grasp at one time.

Now, as for me, I am a half-wolf demon, meaning I am still half-human.

This grants me what I would call special physical skills: an increased sense of smell, hearing, and speed. Additionally, I'm much stronger than most.

When I changed, however, something went wrong with the curse. I maintained one of my bewitchers powers. Only one..."

Inu looked around the room and spotted her fireplace. This was his favorite and most useful trick. With the wave of his hand, the wood inside ignited, roaring to life. Kagome jumped back in surprise, her eyes wide. Inu couldn't help but smirk as he rested his arms on the back of the couch, pleased with himself and her reaction.

"You did that?"

"And I can do so much more."

"How?" she demanded dubiously, crossing the room and sitting beside him, clasping her hands in her lap. "You said you only had one power."

"I did, and I do. But this power is the ability to control inanimate objects anyway I see fit, whether it is to create a fire, or turn a quill into a sword. I do pay a price for this power, however. Every action has consequences."

"What is it?" Kagome breathed, her eyes still on the roaring fire.

"Yet another story for another time. What is relevant to you and to this particular conversation, however, is the knowledge that I am forced to continue to use these powers, if but for no other reason than to maintain this estate. It would be a nearly impossible feat to occupy a home of this size by myself without using them."

"How…how long have you been this way?"

"Thirty years now."

"How old _are_ you?"

"Too old," he grinned deviously.

"And you've never had any other kinds of special powers? Nothing that could, for example, cause hallucinations?" she timidly questioned, unable to meet his gaze and fidgeting her hands on her lap. She was terrified of his answer. She didn't know what she was more afraid of – him being the cause, or him not knowing what it even was.

"Kagome," Inu comforted, taking her hands into his larger ones and gently squeezing them. "What's wrong?"

She pulled her hands away from his and stood up, putting distance between them once more.

"Do not presume to be so familiar with me, _half-demon_," she snarled, ignoring the brief moment of pain that flashed across his face.

Maybe he was telling the truth and maybe he wasn't – there was no way of knowing for certain with a monster like him. He had already gone this far to destroy her and her family. There was no way of knowing if perhaps this was yet another one of his games that he seemed to enjoy playing so much.

"Kagome, you are beginning to test my patience…"

"And what are you going to do to me if I continue to test it? If you're so keen on knowing what plagues me, then perhaps all you need to do is look in the mirror and say 'hello'," she taunted, spinning on her heel and leaving a confused and hurt half-demon behind in her room.

Eamonn sat, slumping down into the first chair he had seen at the dining table the night before. He propped his arms up and wearily rested his head in his hands, his bottom lip trembling ever so slightly.

She was gone.

His little girl was really gone.

After he had found her note, he had been searching for her nonstop. He needed to bring her home to safety and stop her foolishness. He had worked until late last night, when he'd finally given in to defeat and returned home. She had too much of a head start, and she was bound to be in the beast's hands by now.

He needed to accept that.

So why couldn't he? And how could he have been so foolish as to not keep a closer eye on her? He had told her before that he would pay his own debt to the monster, yet she had insisted on going anyway. He should have taken her more seriously.

Eamonn squeezed his eyes shut at the image of that…that…_monster_ holding his precious little girl the way he had held him, drawing a fang up the side of her neck.

He could only sit back and pray that the beast had shown his little girl the same mercy that had shown to him, despite her purpose in leaving.

"Papa?"

Eamonn looked up and saw Kaede standing before him, her eyes red and puffy from crying.

"She's really gone, isn't she?"

Eamonn could only bring himself to solemnly nod in response, unable to speak the words. That would make this real. He wasn't ready for that yet. He couldn't admit defeat quite yet – and he was determined not to.

She was gone, but he _would_ find her. He may not know where she was, but he wouldn't stop searching for her until he had brought her home safely.

Of that, he was certain.

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><p>AN:

I had this ready two and a half hours ago. TWO AND A HALF HOURS AGO. But then my sister took my computer AND SHE WOULDN'T FREAKING GIVE IT BACK. We don't know what I had to do to get it back...

Tada! Chapter 4 is up! Next time, another one of my absolute favs goes up. Followed by ANOTHER fav two weeks after. You guys. I'm SO excited for this. We have no idea…

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Tequila Blackbird for suffering through this chapter. You have NO idea how bad this used to be. It was so bad. SO so bad. Vomit worthy. You, my dear, are a God among men. Or women. Whatever. Thank you for saving this from the clutches of death. Really and truly.

As always, thank you to ALL of my wonderful readers, reviewers, followers, and favoriters. Ya'll push me to keep on keepin on, and I love it :D.

Please remember to review! I love them and I always respond to everyone!

Stay tuned for the next post, **March 2nd at approx 7 pm EST** (provided I don't need to bargain with brownies to get my computer back again)! I (personally) can't wait!

Ta ta for now!

~Strawberry Grasshopper (SG)

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><p>Now for the Author Responses for those I couldn't PM to thank for their awesomeness!<p>

**Guest 1 and 2:**

Thank you both for your awesome, and truly wonderful reviews! I love to hear from you guys, and it makes me SO happy that you loved my story enough to take a few minutes out of your day to say a few nice things to me about my story. You guys are the bestest! I know I know I know - the long updates are a killer. BUT. I promise it's for a good reason ;).

**phoenixwings37**:

Thank you for the awesome review! I'm glad that they remind you of some of your favorite characters - which book series and characters are you referring to? I have to say I'm SUPER curious now! Thanks again for the KILLER review, and I hope that you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others!

And finally to KiryuFanGirl (who just reviewed chapter 1):

Thank you so much for the awesome review! It is indeed Beauty and the Beast, and I hope that you will keep reading the rest of the story!


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Inuyasha universe. Everything else is mine._

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><p><em>Tequila Blackbird's Song for Thought<em>

…. really, it's Strawberry Grasshopper's - this is her favorite chapter, so it's only fair that she gets the song that she's wanted me to pick since FOREVER ;)

This chapter: "Once Upon a Dream" by Lana Del Rey

"_I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream… I know you, that look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam… And I know it's true that visions are seldom all they seem...__"_

Also featured this week: Bach's _Goldberg Variations, Aria Da Capo_. Read on to see why!

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><p><em>Chapter 5<em>

Kagome stomped down the hall, trying to get the feel of his touch out of her mind – even him simply holding her hands left her feeling nauseous. She needed space away from him, and she didn't regret leaving the way she had. Now, she was wandering aimlessly through the halls of the castle, randomly opening doors and looking inside with unseeing eyes before slamming them shut again.

The sound was somehow very satisfying, and the action of terrorizing the doors was a sufficient outlet for her anger and frustration.

For now.

How dare he touch her so familiarly? Like they were friends or lovers...

They were neither, and they were never going to be. She hated him. _Hated_ him.

She wanted to find a spoon and gouge out his eyes! Take a butter knife and remove his spleen! Rip out every hair on his head!

"Oh, that beast," she snarled, slamming another door. "Cocky, inconsiderate, lying, horrible, disgusting monster!"

Kagome slapped her open fist against a door, hardly feeling the sting lingering across her reddening skin. She did it again and again, until tears of frustration started to pool at the corners of her eyes and her fingers began to throb from the force of impact. She turned around and rested her back against the door, slowly slipping down it and slumping over her knees to cradle them against her chest.

She sat there and silently rocked herself back and forth. She pinched her eyes shut until she knew that when she opened them again, tears wouldn't break free and crawl down her cheeks.

She needed to be stronger than this. She wasn't going to let him break her that easily. She was never going to let him win this weird, twisted, demented _game_ of his.

She rose to her feet and smoothed out her skirts, gruffly wiping her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

"…_Anima malis impleta…"_

A chill ran through her whole body. It was as if a strong winter breeze had just passed through her.

"Hello? Is someone there?" she called out tentatively, searching up and down the corridor.

There was no one here.

It was just her.

Alone.

In a hallway.

In a strange new castle.

"Hello?" she called out again. She wasn't quite sure what she expected to hear, but silence wasn't it.

She finally dismissed it, deciding that it was just from the stress of everything that had happened recently. She continued down the hallway, wanting to explore more of her new surroundings.

"…_Anima malis impleta…"_

Her heart jumped into her throat as she heard it again. She could feel her heartbeat pulsating throughout her body, its tempo picking up speed and pounding harder and harder. She could clearly hear the beat ringing in her ears.

"…_Anima malis impleta…"_

It was just a haunting whisper – faint and nearly undetectable, but it _was_ there. It was like the sound of a thousand damned and forsaken souls whispering in her ear through one voice, telling her of their pain and suffering...of the hellish torment they had to endure for all of eternity.

She swallowed and looked around. "Hello?" she tried once more, her voice trembling in fear.

"…_Anima malis impleta…"_

She bolted down the hallway, grabbing ahold of the first door she saw. She flung it open and slammed it shut behind her, throwing all of her weight against it to keep it shut tight.

She swallowed the large lump in her throat, willing her racing heart to calm down. Finally, she let out a shaky breath and opened her eyes, which she had pinched shut once again as she made it to the other side of the door.

What was happening to her?

And what did _anima malis impleta_ mean?

Maybe she was just suffering from a mental break. She _had_ been through a lot recently, after all. Maybe she had finally reached a point where she could take no more. Was this what the brink of insanity felt like?

The whispers of unknown voices floating through her head in languages she didn't understand...visions of people she had never met swimming before her eyes...tactile hallucinations where she could actually _feel_ cold bursts of wind against her face...

Was this _really_ what it meant to be insane?

No. She wouldn't accept that.

Inu had said that there was a world that ran beside hers – one that she knew nothing about. While she didn't trust _him_, what he had said was far easier to accept than her sudden and new bursts of madness.

She was determined to figure out exactly what was happening to her.

Kagome pushed away from the door and finally took in her new surroundings, a small and surprised gasp parting her lips.

Perhaps fate was finally going to be kind to her.

Once again, she was in awe of the treasures that this place held.

The walls before her were about four stories high and lined with nothing but books and scrolls stored in beautiful French Walnut shelves. The shelves stretched up from the deep, rich wooden floor to kiss the beautiful white, sky blue, and gold filigree-covered ceiling above. Several sliding ladders had also been fixed to shelves, which provided access to the books several stories above.

On the wall to her left, several large windows had been cut to allow sunlight to filter in and help illuminate the room. Next to the door on the right, she found a fireplace so large that she was sure she could fit into it herself – not that she was planning to try. Before it sat a grand wooden piano that her fingers ached to play. Several couches and desks had been spaced out across the floor, all atop lavish and tasteful rugs.

Kagome inhaled deeply. The smell of old paper and leather saturated the air, filling it with a heavenly sent.

_This_ was a room that Kagome could see herself spending a lot of time in.

And a place where she could begin to possibly research what was happening to her.

Kagome quickly made her way over to the closest bookshelf and began reading the spines, searching for something that might be of use. Finally, she came across one that had some potential.

"_The History of Demons_…" she murmured, pulling the book from the shelf.

Suddenly, she felt the same sensations that had overcome her a mere hour ago. Shortness of breath and a loss of sight as well as hearing swept through her like a plague, terrifying her.

It was happening again.

Why?

Why was it happening again?

_Piano music flooded the room, filling it with its sweet and romantic song. The fireplace crackled as a fire slowly burned, turning the logs within to piles of ash._

_Kagome clasped the book to her chest, slowly turning to look at the piano – and there sat the woman she had seen this morning. Her hair was pulled up, exposing her long and slender neck, which was adorned with a simple locket. Her dress was plain and rather common, yet the music she played was magical._

_Kagome hated to interrupt it, but she knew that she had to. She needed answers, and more importantly, she needed to know that she wasn't crazy._

"_Hello," she called out to the woman, approaching her. She was discouraged when she didn't look up at her, but she pressed forward – she hoped that she simply couldn't hear her above the music. "Excuse me," she tried again, much louder this time. She continued across the room until she was standing beside the woman, hoping that her presence would help her cause._

_Still, the woman didn't look at her or pause in playing her concerto. _

"_Pardon me," Kagome tried again, this time raising her hand to touch the woman's shoulder, only to have it never connect with flesh. Instead, it passed right through her, and a cold blast raced through Kagome's arm. She quickly backed away, staring at her hand._

"_It went straight through her…" her voice trembled. "How is this possible…"_

_Kagome clutched the book closer to her chest, taking comfort in its weight. It wasn't going anywhere. It resisted when she touched it, as expected._

"_Quite beautiful," a masculine voice rang out, causing the music crashing to an ungraceful halt. The now frightened woman hastily stood up and faced the man, awkwardly curtsying. It was the same man as before – the handsome man with the sad eyes._

"_My…my—"_

"—_There is no need for formalities, my dear. You are a guest here," the man kindly interrupted, ending her trembling stammers._

"_Of…of course. As you wish. How would you like me to address you?"_

"_As your friend."_

"_My friend… Thank you for the compliment. You are most gracious, and it pleases me that you enjoy my music so."_

"_I wasn't talking about the music."_

_A bright red blush crept up her cheeks, staining her delicate white skin._

"_My thanks, nonetheless," she answered gracefully, darting her eyes away from him._

_The man smiled kindly and took her hand, leading her back to the piano. "Play with me?" he inquired, sitting on the bench as she had before._

_The woman nodded nervously, sitting next to him as he had requested._

"_Do you like Bach? I have always found _Goldberg Variations, Aria Da Capo_ to be rather enchanting. Do you know it?"_

"_I do. And I couldn't agree more," she softly replied as she began playing with him._

"_I didn't mean to frighten you," he soothed after a moment. "I do frighten you, don't I?"_

"_I think you intimidate a great deal of people," she quietly confessed._

"_And are you one of them?"_

"_Would you like me to be?" she meekly inquired._

"_No."_

"_Then I won't be," she promised, gasping softly as his hand gently grazed her own while his fingers danced across the keys with hers._

"_Good," he murmured, turning to look deep into her eyes. "Did you just arrive?"_

"_I—I did," she stammered, her blush deepening._

"_I trust you had a pleasant journey? How have you found everything so far?"_

"_I did, thank you. Everything has been more than I could have ever imagined," she breathed, timidly brushing her fingers against his again, and Kagome watched her sneak another glance at the man._

"_I'm pleased to hear that," he rumbled lowly, causing her to bite her lip. They sat in silence then, continuing their duet on the piano._

_When they had finished, the woman turned to the man and looked at him as if she were trying to gather the courage to say or do something. He never gave her the chance._

"_It was a pleasure to finally meet you, my dear. I look forward to seeing you again later, but I am needed elsewhere at the moment. Perhaps we can do this again sometime?"_

"_As you wish, my friend…"_

As suddenly as they had been there, they disappeared again, leaving Kagome alone in the room. She gasped for air as her senses left and then returned to her once more.

The sensation was not nearly as violent as it had been the first three times, and for that she was grateful. Sitting down on one of the couches, she stared at the book she clasped in her clammy, trembling hands. She struggled to regain her breath, doing her best to regulate it and her once again racing heart.

Whatever was happening to her… She could only pray that there were some answers inside this book that could give her some insight.

She eagerly opened the book and started reading, looking over each page carefully. She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there reading before she heard the doors to the library carefully open.

There was only one person that could be.

"I understand that I deserved that," Inu growled from the doorway, "but I sincerely hope that this attitude and behavior of yours will soon come to an end."

"You do not like how I have been behaving? Strange…I would have thought that this would have been exactly what you were expecting when you destroyed my family."

Inu took a deep breath to keep himself from snapping and crossed the room to sit down on the couch next to her.

"I will admit that I expected your anger and resentment in the beginning, and I will admit that they are well deserved on my part, but I hope that you will look past it. You are going to be here for a long time, Kagome. Living even a year of your life in anger and resentment is a horrible way to live it."

"Living your life around someone you despise is a horrible way to live it," she sneered, snapping her book shut and rising to her feet to put it away before he could see what she was reading. Inu watched her fingers linger on the spine, a thoughtful look entering her eyes.

"Why did you do it?" she questioned lowly. "Why did you need to destroy what little my family had? All we had was each other. The seas took away our livelihood. The storms took away my mother. Life had been cruel and unforgiving to us, and yet, just when it looked like we might have a small bit of fortune...you came along. You destroyed us and robbed us of the one thing we still had. So I ask you…Why?"

Why?

_Why indeed._

He was still looking for an answer to that question. How could he hope to give her an honest answer when he did not even know the reason himself. No…that was not completely true. He knew part of why. While he had not been without company over the last thirty years, he had not been with one of his old species since he has been fully human.

He missed it.

He missed the simple companionship of another so similar to his former self, but she could never begin to understand that. She could never begin to understand what it felt like to be like him – to have what had happened to him done to herself. He wished she would _never_ have to experience it.

He liked this intriguing girl. Despite the hatred in her heart and the venom on her tongue, he knew what she was really like. She was kind and loving.

Inu wanted to see that side first-hand.

And maybe… Just maybe with her here, he would finally be able to find his salvation.

He stood up from his place on the edge of the couch and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and ignoring the way she immediately shrugged it off, stepping backwards to put distance between them. "One day I hope to explain that to you, Kagome – when I think you will understand better."

"That is just a father's excuse to avoid his child's question altogether. Despite what you think, I am no child, Inu...and I want to know why."

"You are not a child? Do you honestly think that?"

"How dare you imply that I am not!"

"Can you prove to me that you are not?"

"I have nothing to prove to you," she snarled. "I have no reason to prove myself to a vile, disgusting, sloven, half-witted monster who likes to belittle and degrade others in order make themselves feel more powerful!"

Inu felt like she had taken a sword and thrust it deep into his gut – twisting it this way and that, only to step back and gleefully watch his blood seep down the blade and drip onto the floor. She wanted nothing more than to destroy him in body and soul.

He saw that now.

He saw that she wanted to be the catalyst to his demise.

There was one thing that Kagome did not expect, however. He was a fighter, and he was prepared to fight her until the bitter end.

Baring his long fangs and snarling, Inu grabbed Kagome's arm and drug her out of the library and back to her room. He marched them over to the closet, ignoring her jerks and smacks to get away from him as well as her yelps of pain at the way his claws dug into the soft flesh of her delicate skin.

"Half-witted monster am I? Sloven am I? Degrading am I? If you want me to be degrading, then trust me _Princess_...I have _no_ qualms about being _degrading_ and _inhumane_. Come here," he barked, throwing her into the closet. "Oh yes…I have no qualms about it at all. In fact, I have a _fun_ little activity for you."

"What is that?" she demanded, almost afraid to know the answer as she saw him root through the many beautiful gowns she had seen merely a few hours before. Finally, he seemed to find one that pleased him. He yanked it out and threw it at her.

"You think me a monster? Then allow me the opportunity to live up to your expectations. Put that on, and don't leave this room until you do."

Kagome examined the dress as he slammed the door to the closet shut. It was a simple, all black maid's dress. What on earth did he want with her dressed in this? She almost didn't want to know, but she knew that one way or another, she was about to find out. After she had changed into the black wool dress, she slowly opened the door and looked into the icy, frozen eyes of her captor.

"Come," he ground out, all but snarling. "First, I am going to make sure that you are fed. Then, we are going to get busy," he informed her, dragging her through the halls and down the stairs they had used the night before.

"Doing what?"

"You think me sloven? Well, we are going to fix that then."

And he meant every word of it. After a very cold and silent meal, Inu presented her with all of the cleaning supplies she could ever want for cleaning and polishing the large, dirty wooden floor that had been covered with candles and wax the night before.

"I expect you to clean and polish this floor by the time the afternoon is over," he informed her, his earlier temper having cooled to a dull simmer.

"You will be sorely disappointed then. There is no way I can accomplish a such a feat as _that_ in such a short period of time."

"Well, we will never know until you get started _Princess_. You should begin – before I make you clean the windows too."

Kagome glared at him furiously as he walked away, leaving her alone in the room.

Frustrated, she kicked the bucket at her feet.

She didn't want to be doing this right now, serving this condescending monster. She longed to get back to the library and locate the book she found to look for answers.

She snarled at bucket, but ultimately, she started working on the floors.

If she was able to finish this, then maybe she could sneak off and hurry back to the library without inciting the monster's temper and illicit his need to punish her.

Begrudgingly, she began.

As the hours passed, she became more and more engrossed with her task, finding it somehow therapeutic. It allowed her the chance to think and reflect, while also taking out her aggression in a productive manner.

In fact, she had become so engrossed with her work that she was startled when Inu's boots appeared in her vision. She stopped scrubbing the area she had been working on as her eyes trailed up his body in anger, frustration, and nervousness.

"You did well," he complimented, his eyes softer than she was expecting. "Truly, you have. I thought that you might like to take a break," he continued, gesturing to the plate he held. "I brought you a sandwich and an orange."

Kagome's eyes widened slightly. An orange? It had been so long since she'd had one. They were very expensive and exotic, which made them hard to come by – particularly this time of year. Why was he suddenly offering her one? What was his goal? What was he trying to achieve?

"If you aren't interested, I can always take it away," he casually commented as the silence between them grew, spurred on by the skepticism he saw in her eyes.

"No!" she hastily objected, the lure of the fruit too strong for her to reject it. "I...would rather you didn't," she muttered, hating herself for saying it and ignoring the grin stretching across his face.

She was already in this far. She would play his game...for a little bit, anyway.

He held the plate out for her, then walked with her back to the table where he watched her eat. It was unnerving, and more than once she found herself wishing that he would stop.

"Do you like sandwiches?" he finally asked, ending the awkward silence between them.

"I enjoy them as much as the next person," she casually dismissed. In truth, she had worked up such an appetite that this was the best sandwich she had ever eaten. However, this was most likely due to pure hunger alone.

"I see…" he replied, trailing off in thought. "In truth," he began again after a moment, "I don't really know what you like. In food, specifically, but in many other things as well. Clothing, for instance. I don't know what styles you prefer."

"Not this," she muttered under her breath, mentally cringing at the dress she currently wore.

"Or music," he continued, ignoring her comments. "Or even…books?" he finished, smirking at the brief look of panic that crossed her face. "Tell me, what were you reading in the library earlier? Perhaps I should read it as well. If it has caught your eye, then surely it is worth my time."

"You wouldn't like it, I'm sure."

"Why don't you humor me?"

"Alright, if you really must know – it was a history book."

"Intriguing. The history of what, might I ask?"

"France, of course," she lied. "I didn't get very far, however. I probably won't continue it."

Inu knew she was lying. He could see it in her eyes, although she was doing her best to present a flawless façade of honesty. He was no longer ignorant and naïve, unlike this girl. He had paid his dues. No… He was quite good at spotting liars now… Just like he knew that if he were to pursue the subject, she would clam up and lash out to protect the secret he knew she was hiding. He was sure of it.

It also helped that he knew what book she had been reading. He had gone back to the library once he had finished with her and easily located it. While it _was_ a history book, he also knew that it was more a _biblical_ history of demons rather than a literal one. He had read that book himself about thirty years ago when he was looking for answers to questions he had never thought he would need to ask.

What he wanted to know was what her questions were. What was she trying to learn?

However, if she wasn't going to talk to him about it willingly, then he wasn't going to force her to do so. Patience, after all, is always rewarded.

"I'm already learning more about you!" he declared dramatically. "I didn't think you had any interest in history. Tell me – do you know the history behind the sandwich?"

Kagome couldn't help but feel as if this conversation had suddenly taken a turn for the more obscure.

"I do not," she replied. If he kept talking, she hoped that she wouldn't have to say much, or even respond at all.

"I read it once in Pierre-Jean Grosley's book _Londres. _He wrote about how there was an English statesman – the Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu – playing poker. He played for twenty four hours straight. Can you imagine? A man so engrossed with a game of poker that he played for a whole day? He didn't even stop the game to eat. Instead, he took two pieces of bread and placed meat between them and kept eating as he played. Now, who knows if this story is completely true, but during Grosley's stay in London, both the story and the food grew in popularity."

"Fascinating," Kagome unenthusiastically mumbled, peeling her orange. She winced when juice squirted out at her as she dug her nails into it. Ripping the first small section off, her eyes widened at the color of the flesh inside.

Red.

She had heard of these oranges before, but she herself had never eaten one. She was admittedly more excited than she should have been and eagerly continued to peel it.

"What fascinates me so much," Inu continued, "is how engrossed and passionate the Earl was. To play poker for that long… Can you imagine the raw passion? The engrossing, all-consuming need to do something for twenty four hours straight. Have you ever felt that desire before? That drive?"

"I haven't," she responded, focusing all of her attention on removing a large patch of bitter, white rind.

"Nor have I. Can you imagine what that must feel like? I want, more than anything, to find something I am that passionate about. Don't you?"

"I think we all are. Otherwise, what is it we are doing with our lives?" she replied offhandedly, turning the orange over in her hands to admire her handiwork. She felt like the great Michelangelo having just completed his carving of David, only her masterpiece wouldn't withstand the test of time. "We all have things that we need to do in our day to day lives in order to survive, but we all need that reason to wake up in the morning and continue marching forward. For most, loved ones are sufficient enough reason. For others, apparently, it's poker."

"And tell me… What is yours?"

"When I find it, I doubt that you will be the first person I tell," she snorted.

"Perhaps it _is_ poker," he continued, ignoring the insult and steering the conversation back on course. "Have you ever played?"

"Poker?" Kagome asked incredulously. "No, never. I'm assuming you have."

"Not for some time," he commented casually, inwardly smiling as his scheme slowly came to fruition. "Perhaps we can play it together."

"Why?" Kagome scoffed, breaking off a wedge of the orange and popping it into her mouth.

"Because, in addition to it being an entertaining game, it is a game based entirely on bluffing and wagering."

"And you think I would want to gamble with you? There's not a thing in the world that I want from you."

"Really? Not even the luxury of being able to visit your family? Well, I suppose you're right," he relented, inwardly laughing at the change in her expression as he pushed away from the table.

He had her now.

"Wait."

There it was. He paused, his hand still on the table. He eagerly awaited her response.

"Perhaps…perhaps we can play together," she ground out.

"Then perhaps, if I see a positive change in you and your attitude...in a few weeks, we can."

"So you just wanted to torment me further?" she stood, slapping her hands down on the table top and leaning forward, ready to face him in another verbal confrontation. "Lure me into dining with you with oranges? Then raise my hopes, only to try to buy me with what I'm sure are false promises?"

"On the contrary, _little girl_. However, have you considered the possibility that, should you be civil towards me, perhaps that will gain you more than if you aren't? I can make your life as pleasant or as unpleasant as I see fit while you live here. Wouldn't you rather spend your time at ease?"

"So…you really _are_ trying to buy me," she laughed humorously. "Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, _beast_, but I am not some _whore_. Despite what you might be used to, you can't just _buy_ me and my affections."

Inu matched her position head on, slapping his own hands onto the table, digging his claws deep into the wood as he leaned forward and snarled. A deep growl emitted from his whole body, vibrating the air around them and making the hair on the back of Kagome's neck stands up.

"I'm not trying to buy you, but it would be nice if every time we spoke, our conversation didn't end in an argument wherein we want to strangle each other out of pure frustration!" he quietly growled, his voice growing in volume until he was shouting. He punched the table to emphasize his point, and they both jumped as his fist went through it.

They both watched in silence as he removed his hand, his knuckles bloodied and bruised.

With another low growl, he waved his uninjured hand, repairing the table before cradling his bloodied one to his chest.

"Get back to work," he snarled, leaving her alone then.

That was the last she saw of him that day, and as she finished dinner in the now spotless room, she couldn't help but sigh out of relief. While she was admittedly slightly curious to know how he was, she honestly didn't care enough to look for him and find out, no matter how horrible his injury was. After all, it _was_ self-inflicted.

And besides. Now she had time to brush up on her history of _France_.

Kagome slowly made her way through the halls, getting lost a few times before she somehow made it back to her room. She bathed and changed into a nightgown and robe, sighing in relief again. Now, she knew that she could find the library from here.

She softly padded down the empty corridors, accompanied only by the sound her slippers clicking against the hard floors. The surrounding darkness of the night somehow made her feel that much more alone, and she pulled her robe closer to her as a chill ran up her body.

Finally, the library was within sight, and she smiled. Perhaps she could spend more time looking for other books while she was here. There had to be more than one book that could help her, after all.

Kagome slowed as she approached the room, however.

It had been a faint whisper before, but now that she stood just a few feet away from the door, she froze. Her heart sped while her fingertips began to tingle.

Coming softly from the room was piano music.

It was Bach.

_Goldberg Variations, Aria Da Capo_.

* * *

><p>AN:

So, I know that a lot of you guys want to know who this _her_ is, and to be honest, I just can't keep that in any mo—

_—We interrupt your regularly scheduled AN with a brief PSA:_

This month (March) is National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness month (in the US).

In short, MS is when someone's body starts attacking itself and degrading the nerves in the brain. The individual with MS either won't notice anything, might have tingling or numbness, or will become paralyzed over time. It never gets better: only worse. That said, there are a lot of treatments out there that work on slowing it significantly, so it's not a death sentence and there are lots of people that live with it everyday.

Keep an eye out (in the US) for people wearing orange nail polish as part of the orange nail polish campaign to bring about awareness. It's orange because the "color" for awareness is orange, like pink is for breast cancer. (At least in the US. Hey guys! Guess what country I'm from?)

Check out: _national ms society . org_ (remove spaces) for more info!

_Now back to your regularly scheduled programing:_

—nd I really have to say, I feel a LOT better now that that's off of my chest! I hope you aren't disappointed... But.. It just wouldn't work any other way...

As always, many thanks to Tequila Blackbird for the edits (told ya this one wouldn't be as bad as ch 4 ;).

And once again, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS READ AND REVIEWED THUS FAR! You guys... Really... Just...:)!

And of course, I always respond to every review. If you take a few seconds to say a few words about OCAR to me, then you deserve to be acknowledged and thanked :).

Look for Chapter 6 (Eeeeek! I can't believe it's already chapter 6!) **Monday, March 16th, at aprox 7 p.m. EST**!

Ta ta for now!

~SG

* * *

><p>And now, the ARs for those I can't PM!

Guest 1 and 2:

Thanks for the killer reviews! I've actually never hear of _Cruel Beauty_, but it sounds REALLY cool! I'll definitely look it up! I'm clearly a big fan of Beauty and the Beast ;). Do you remember the title or author of the FF Beauty and the Beast you read? I'm super curious! Thanks for the awesome reviews, and I hope that you guys will continue reading!


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